ROB REINER (Director/Actor) has directed some of the most popular and influential motion pictures of the past two decades, deftly moving among many styles. He has created films that win both audience enthusiasm and critical acclaim.
The versatile filmmaker has been immersed in the entertainment business for much of his life, succeeding first as an actor, then as a director and producer. He performed in many television and feature productions (including his Emmy-winning work as a star of the long-running hit television series All in the Family) before finding success as a director with the acclaimed "rockumentary" comedy This is Spinal Tap in 1984. He followed with the road comedy The Sure Thing and the adaptation of Stephen King's youth adventure Stand by Me. The latter film brought him his first nomination as Best Director from the Directors Guild of America. The Princess Bride, adapted by William Goldman from his book, followed in 1986 and has since become a beloved classic. Most recently, he directed and produced The Story of Us with Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis.Reiner's succession of box office hits include When Harry Met Sally..., Misery, A Few Good Men, The American President and Ghosts of Mississippi.
Beginning in 1997, Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner formed the I Am Your Child Foundation to promote early childhood education. Materials and information about early childhood development are available on the internet at www.iamyourchild.org.
In addition, he chaired the California Children and Families Initiative for the 1998 ballot. As a result, the California Children and Families State Commission (now First 5 California) was formed, which works to implement a comprehensive, integrated program of early childhood health and education services. Governor Gray Davis appointed Reiner chairman of this commission, which oversees the expenditure of over $600 million annually.
JEREMY LEVEN (Producer/Writer) most recently adapted Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook for director Nick Cassevetes and actors Gena Rowland and James Garner. Previously, he wrote the critically acclaimed film The Legend of Bagger Vance for director Robert Redford and wrote and directed the offbeat romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco, starring Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp and Faye Dunaway. Leven has also written and will direct Lovers, Liars and Thieves in the Spring of 2003.
Prior to beginning his film writing career, Leven earned a graduate degree in Child Psychology from Harvard and was a Fellow in the Department of Child Psychiatry at the Yale University Medical School. He also served on the faculty of Harvard, was a hospital psychologist in Massachusetts and was the Director of Youth, Drug Treatment and Methadone Programs for Western Massachusetts.
In 1968, he founded, wrote and directed The Proposition, a satirical revue, which ran for ten years in Boston and four off-Broadway. To put himself through graduate school, he authored the books Creator, and the critically acclaimed Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr Kassler, J.S.P.S., the latter of which has become standard reading in university contemporary fiction courses. He later adapted Creator into a screenplay for a film of the same name, directed by Ivan Passar and starring Peter O'Toole and Mariel Hemingway. Leven also co-wrote Playing For Keeps, directed by Harvey and Bob Weinstein and starring Marisa Tomei, as well as Crazy as Hell, directed by and starring Eriq La Salle.
ALAN GREISMAN (Producer) has been producing films with some of Hollywood's biggest stars for over twenty years. Most recently, Greisman produced the Western Texas Rangers for Miramax Films and Earthly Possessions for HBO Films starring Susan Sarandon.
He began his career as an independent producer but soon went on to be named president of Spelling Entertainment's movie division. During his tenure at Spelling, he produced the hit comedy Soapdish that garnered star Kevin Kline a Golden Globe nomination. He then went on to become president of Rastar productions. In this position, Greisman was involved with every aspect of production: development, casting, budgeting/finance, marketing and distribution. He also produced Mike Figgis' romantic drama Mr. Jones starring Richard Gere.
In 1992, he was appointed president of Savoy Pictures. During his time at Savoy, the company produced and released over fifteen motion pictures. Greisman guided all of these films from conception through release. Among the highlights are Academy Award nominated Shadowlands, starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger, and Robert De Niro's stunning directorial debut A Bronx Tale.
Additional producing credits include such films as Loose Cannons with Dan Ackroyd and Gene Hackman, Fletch and Fletch Lives with Chevy Chase, Satisfaction with Julia Roberts, Surrender with Sally Field and Michael Caine, Windy City with Kate Capshaw, and Heart Beat starring Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek. Alan Greisman and Rob Reiner became producing partners in the Fall of 2002. Alex & Emma is their first picture under the Reiner/Greisman banner.

TODD BLACK (Producer) most recently produced the inspirational drama Antwone Fisher, directed by and starring Denzel Washington. Through a partnership with director Randa Haines, Black produced Wrestling Ernest Hemingway for Warner Bros. Pictures and A Family Thing for United Artists. This led into his three-year tenure as President of Motion Picture Production at Sony's Mandalay Entertainment where he managed such movies as Donnie Brasco, Seven Years in Tibet, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Les Miserables and Wild Things.
In January 2000, Black, along with his partner Jason Blumenthal, merged with the Steve Tisch Company to form Escape Artists, an independently financed company. They have secured Sony Pictures as their domestic partner. Currently, they are prepping four pictures for production starting with the Luis Mandoki thriller Need; the romantic comedy Wedlocked, starring Meg Ryan and Richard Gere; Nautica to be directed by Tarsem; and the thriller Knowing, to be directed by Donnie Darko helmer Richard Kelly. They are also concentrating on a number of other high-profile development projects.
Black attended the theatre program at the University of Southern California and began his career as a casting associate on various television shows. From there, he went on to work with Joe Wizan and produce such movies as Iron Eagle, Tough Guys with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, Dunston Checks In and Fire in the Sky.
ELIE SAMAHA (Producer) is Chairman/CEO of Franchise Pictures, which has fast become one of the most prolific production and co-financing companies in the entertainment industry. Under his leadership, Franchise Pictures will finance and distribute over a dozen films this year alone.
In a three and a half-year period, Samaha has built Franchise into a powerful mini-studio with mainstream films populated by the industry's biggest box-office stars. They include Michael Douglas, Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Jennifer Lopez, Kevin Costner, Danny DeVito, John Travolta, Sylvester Stallone, Sean Penn, Cameron Diaz, Wesley Snipes, Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey.
Franchise Pictures has instituted a domestic distribution arrangement with Warner Bros. Pictures, which began with the popular comedy The Whole Nine Yards, starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry, released on February 18, 2000. Other films released through Warner Bros. Pictures include Art of War, starring Wesley Snipes; The Pledge, starring Jack Nicholson and directed by Sean Penn; Heist, starring Gene Hackman, Danny DeVito and written and directed by David Mamet; and The In-Laws, starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks. Currently in production is David Mamet's next film (currently untitled), starring Val Kilmer and William H. Macy.
Other Franchise fare distributed domestically through Warner Bros. Pictures includes Luis Mandoki's Angel Eyes, with Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel; 3,000 Miles to Graceland, starring Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner; Driven, starring Sylvester Stallone; FearDotCom, starring Stephen Dorff, Natascha McElhone and Stephen Rea; City by the Sea, directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco; and Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. Slated for release in 2003 are Sound of Thunder, starring Edward Burns, Catherine McCormack, and Sir Ben Kinglsey; and The Whole Ten Yards, starring Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis.
Franchise operates a classics division which has recently produced and distributed films including The Green Dragon, starring Patrick Swayze and Forest Whitaker; Caveman's Valentine, starring Samuel L. Jackson; Rodrigo Garcia's Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, featuring Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Amy Brenneman and Cameron Diaz, which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival; and The Big Kahuna, starring Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey.
Franchise retains foreign rights to all its films and operates as a full-service international sales company encompassing distribution, marketing and delivery, with output deals covering territories worldwide. Samaha has shepherded an extensive list of films towards release for the coming year through Franchise Pictures.
Executive Producer PETER GUBER has an unparalleled record of success and a legendary reputation as a producer skilled at discovering properties, nurturing talent, and shaping box office hits.
As head of Columbia Pictures in the early 1970s and later as CEO of Sony Pictures from 1989 to 1995, as well as an independent motion pictures producer, he is responsible for the creation of some of the most successful films of all times. His personal producing credits include The Deep, Midnight Express, American Werewolf in London, Rain Man, Flashdance, Witches of Eastwick, The Color Purple, Tango and Cash, Gorillas in the Mist and Batman.
Today, as Chairman of Mandalay Entertainment Group, he oversees a fast-growing multi-media company that has delivered such hits as Donnie Brasco, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Seven Years in Tibet, The Score and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In 1999, Guber executive produced the 3-D IMAX documentary Galapagos: The Enchanted Voyage. In addition to innovative ventures in prime time television, with four series on network and cable, Guber is Chairman of Mandalay Sports Entertainment, a national sports entertainment partner with professional baseball teams throughout the country and a sister company to Mandalay Pictures. Called a "one-stop-shop," MSE's focus is on the merger between sports and entertainment.
JEFFREY STOTT (Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager) has worked with Rob Reiner on all of the director's films beginning with This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, and Stand by Me. He co-produced the films The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., Misery and A Few Good Men. He served as executive producer on North, The American President, Ghosts of Mississippi and The Story of Us.
Most recently, Stott executive produced Barbet Schroeder's Murder by Numbers for Castle Rock Entertainment where he also served as Executive Vice-President of Production Management. During his tenure at Castle Rock, he oversaw the production of over 60 feature films and was the Executive in Charge of Production on the hit TV series Seinfeld.
Stott has a Masters of Art in History from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in History from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Executive Producer JASON BLUMENTHAL served as Senior Vice President of Production at Mandalay Entertainment. Blumenthal is credited with bringing in the hit movie I Know What You Did Last Summer and Wild Things. Blumenthal's past producing credits include Bio Dome and Dunston Checks In.
In January 2000, Blumenthal and Todd Black merged with the Steve Tisch Company to form Escape Artists, an independently financed company. They have secured Sony Pictures as their domestic partner. Currently, they are prepping four pictures for production, starting with the Luis Mandoki thriller Need; the romantic comedy Wedlocked, starring Meg Ryan and Richard Gere; Nautica, to be directed by Tarsem; and the thriller Knowing, to be directed by Donnie Darko helmer Richard Kelly. They are also concentrating on a number of other high-profile development projects.
Dynamic movie and television producer STEVE TISCH (Executive Producer) has led a successful life rich in spirit and philanthropy. His television and feature film projects have consistently focused on the lives of everyday people and the significant impact they have made upon society. Tisch is currently a Partner for Escape Artists, an independently financed film production company.
One of Tisch's most noteworthy achievements is the production of 1994's Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Forrest Gump (Paramount Pictures). The film starred Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Robin Wright Penn and Gary Sinise and was directed by Robert Zemeckis. Along with receiving Best Picture, Forrest Gump received five other Academy Awards and also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Picture. It remains the fourth-largest grossing domestic box office film of all time.
Tisch began his career in entertainment while still a student at Tufts University. Tisch's summer jobs included a film booker in his family's movie theatre chain; working for director John Avildsen; and serving an apprenticeship under Otto Preminger. Upon his graduation, Tisch continued in the entertainment industry as Peter Guber's assistant at Columbia pictures. At the age of 22, he became a production executive at the studio. During his four-year tenure, Tisch supervised production on such films as The Lords of Flatbush, Tommy, The Last Detail and White Line Fever.
In 1976, Tisch left Columbia to produce his first motion picture, Outlaw Blues. Tisch met Jon Avnet during the shoot and soon the pair formed Tisch/Avnet Productions. Tisch/Avnet feature projects included the sleeper hit of 1983, Risky Business, starring a relatively unknown actor at the time, Tom Cruise. (Other theatrical films included Deal of the Century and Coast to Coast.)
In 1984, Tisch/Avnet produced The Burning Bed, the controversial and dramatic film starring Farrah Fawcett. The made-for-television movie holds the distinction of being the highest-rated television film ever aired on NBC. The Burning Bed received 11 Emmy nominations and numerous other awards. The film has also been credited with providing many women the courage to seek help from physical abuse.
Tisch/Avnet's other television film credits include: Silence of the Heart, about teenage suicide; Something So Right, centering on a relationship between a troubled child and a member of the Big Brother organization; Prime Suspect, about news and media abuse; Homeward Bound, the winner of a Christopher Award, which dealt with a family's acceptance of their young son's battle with cancer; No Other Love, about two marginally retarded young people who fall in love with each other; and Call to Glory, both the television movie and the series, which depicted an Air Force officer and his family during the turbulent years of the Cuban Missile Crisis and Kennedy assassination.
In 1986, Tisch formed his own production company, the Steve Tisch Company, which has gone on to produce: Postman, directed by and starring Kevin Costner; Wild America; The Long Kiss Goodnight; Dear God; Corrina, Corrina; and Looking for an Echo. Other feature films include: Soul Man, Hot to Trot, Big Business, Heart Condition, Bad Influence, and Heart of Dixie.
Tisch has also made an impressive mark on the small screen. He produced the made-for-cable movies Keep the Change (TNT), Afterburn (HBO), which garnered three Emmy Award nominations, and Judgement (HBO). His made-for-television movies include the highly rated The People Next Door, Evil in Clear River and Out on the Edge. Tisch also produced the CBS television series Freshman Dorm and Dirty Dancing (the TV series based on the hit film).
Tisch was elected to AIDS Project Los Angeles' Board of Directors in April, 1991 and re-elected in October 1992. During his tenure, Tisch served as both Board Chair and Chair of the Development Committee. His financial contributions have placed him among APLA's top donors and fund-raisers. Tisch was recently honored with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's Vanguard Award at their 1995 Media Awards. The Vanguard Award, one of the highest awards given by GLAAD, is presented to a member of the entertainment community whose personal contribution towards gay and lesbian equal rights has made a significant difference.
Tisch founded the Jamie & Steve Tisch Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that raises funds to benefit various charities. He has also generously contributed his time and financial resources to such organizations as: UCLA Medical Center (member of the Board of Trustees), The H.E.L.P. Group and The ERAS Center. He is also a member of the Board of Directors at the Tisch School for the Arts at New York University and The Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles.
Tisch is the son of Preston Robert Tisch, and resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Jamie. He has five children and two chocolate brown Labradors named Forrest and Elliot.
GAVIN FINNEY (Director of Photography) most recently worked on the upcoming Inquisition for director Betsan Morris-Evans starring Sir Derek Jacobi and Alun Armstrong and an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for director Tim Supple. He also served as second unit director of photography on the hugely successful Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Additional credits include the film Tom's Midnight Garden, and A Rather English Marriage and Witness Against Hitler for television.
He won a Royal Television Society Award for his work in the miniseries Gormenghast. In addition, he was nominated for a Royal Television Society award for The English Wife in 1995.
Finney graduated from the renowned National Film and Television School in 1991. His graduate film entitled This Boy's Story won the Honorary Film Award at the AMPAS Student Academy Awards in 1992.
JOHN LARENA (Production Designer) has been critically acclaimed for recent work including The Visit, which was nominated for four independent spirit awards, and Mockingbird Don't Sing, for which Variety praised John's "evocative" production design. Coupling his film experience with his degree in architecture from USC, John also enjoys consulting for businesses and homeowners on interior and exterior design.
ROBERT LEIGHTON (Editor) has collaborated with filmmaker Rob Reiner on each of his feature directorial efforts. Those films include This Is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., Misery, A Few Good Men, North, The American President, Ghosts of Mississippi and The Story of Us. He received an Oscar nomination for his work on A Few Good Men. Other motion picture credits include A Mighty Wind and Best in Show, both with Christopher Guest, The Green Mile, two Ron Shelton films, Bull Durham and Blaze, Life with Mikey, Courage Under Fire, Wavelength and Delusion.
Leighton was born in London, where he studied his craft at the London Film School. He first worked for the BBC as an assistant editor before emigrating to the U.S. in 1975.
ALAN EDWARD BELL (Editor) has worked with Robert Leighton on many of Rob Reiner's films including, most recently, The Story of Us. Bell was assistant editor on Misery, A Few Good Men and North and associate editor on The American President and Ghosts of Mississippi.
Bell's previous editing credits include Rob Reiner's ABC special on early childhood development entitled I Am Your Child; the action film Icarus Descending; and The Green Mile, serving as assembly editor for director Frank Darabont. He worked in various capacities on Heathers, Blaze and Life with Mikey. Most recently, he edited the action comedy Bait, directed by Antoine Fuqua and The Anarchist Cookbook, written and directed by Jordan Susman. Bell has also edited numerous music videos and produces the award-winning entertainment website www.directorunknown.com.
As costume designer, SHAY CUNLIFFE paints a bold canvas with her seamless illustrations. Her early films include Dolores Claiborne with Kathy Bates; The Long Walk Home; A Civil Action starring John Travolta; Of Mice and Men with John Malkovich; and Mrs. Soffel starring Mel Gibson.
Subsequently, Mel Gibson invited her to design the clothes for his directorial debut, The Man Without a Face. John Sayles' memorable western Lone Star gave new challenges and was a wonderful contrast with her work on City of Angels, which starred Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan.
Cunliffe's recent credits include What A Girl Wants, The Prime Gig, Sweet November and Enough.