STEPHEN DALDRY (Director) made his feature film debut in 2000 with "Billy Elliot" starring Jamie Bell and Julie Walters. The film was nominated for three Academy Awardsâ, including Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Julie Walters) and Best Screenplay (Lee Hall). It also received 12 BAFTA nominations and won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film, Best Actor (Jamie Bell) and Best Supporting Actress (Julia Walters) as well as 32 other awards internationally. "The Hours" is Daldry's second feature film.
Before Daldry turned his hand to feature films, he was director of the Royal Court Theatre and remains Associate Director. He has directed or produced more than a hundred new plays, many of which have subsequently been seen all over the world. His work at the Court includes David Hare's "Via Dolorosa," which later transferred to Broadway and London's West End, Ron Hutchinson's "Rat in the Skull," Caryl Churchill's "This is a Chair," "Far Away" and "A Number," Arnold Wesker's "The Kitchen" and Howard Korder's "Search and Destroy. " For the National Theatre, Daldry directed the multi-award-winning "Machinal" and "An Inspector Calls. " The latter is still running in London's West End, and also was mounted on Broadway, where both Daldry and the play received Tony Awards. Daldry has also directed and produced for BBC radio and television, and his first short film, "Eight" was nominated in 1999 for a BAFTA. Daldry is a Trustee of both the Old Vic and the Young Vic theatres in London. He is also the Cameron Mackintosh Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Oxford University.
Currently, Daldry is directing two of Caryl Churchill's plays, "Far Away" at the New York Theater Workshop and "A Number" at London's Royal Court Theatre.
SCOTT RUDIN (Producer) Film: "Changing Lanes," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Orange County," "Zoolander," "Rules of Engagement," "Wonder Boys," "Shaft," "Sleepy Hollow," "Angela's Ashes," "Bringing Out the Dead," "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut," "The Truman Show," "A Civil Action," "In and Out," "Ransom," "Mother," "Marvin's Room," "The First Wives Club," "Twilight," "Clueless," "Sabrina," "Nobody's Fool," "The Firm," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Sister Act," "Sister Act II: Back in the Habit," "The Addams Family," "Addams Family Values," "Little Man Tate," "Regarding Henry," "Pacific Heights," "Flatliners," "Jennifer Eight," "Mrs. Soffel," "He Makes Me Feel Like Dancing" (Academy Awardâ--Best Documentary). Theater: "Passion" (Tony Award--Best Musical), "Indiscretions," "Hamlet," "Seven Guitars," "Skylight," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "On the Town" (with the New York Shakespeare Festival), "The Chairs," "The Judas Kiss," "Stupid Kids," "The Blue Room," "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," "Closer" (London and New York), "Amy's View," "The Wild Party" (with the New York Shakespeare Festival), "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan," "Copenhagen" (Tony Award--Best Play), "The Designated Mourner," "The Caretaker" (London) and "The Goat" (Tony Award--Best Play).
Upcoming: Richard Linklater's "The School of Rock," Barry Sonnenfeld's "A Series of Unfortunate Events," Frank Oz's "The Stepford Wives," Amy Heckerling's "After Life," Trey Parker's "Team America," "Kavalier and Clay" and Wes Anderson's newest film.
DAVID HARE (Screenwriter) is a celebrated playwright whose works have been consistently presented on the stages of Broadway and the West End over the past 20 years. Nine of his 20 plays have been presented on Broadway.
Hare was born in Sussex in 1947. He wrote his first one-act play at 22 in four days for production by Portable Theater, a fringe group he had founded with his friend Tony Bicat. His first full-length play, "Slag," was performed at the Hampstead Theatre Club.
Among Hare's best-known plays are "Plenty," "The Secret Rapture," "Skylight," "The Judas Kiss," "Amy's View," "The Blue Room" and "Via Dolorosa" (in which he appeared), all of which have been presented on Broadway.
His trilogy of plays about contemporary Britain, "Racing Demon," "Murmuring Judges" and "The Absence of War," were presented in a single day at the Olivier Theatre in 1993. His most recent play is "The Breath of Life," which stars Maggie Smith and Judi Dench and is currently running at the Haymarket Theatre Royal in London's West End.
Hare's first feature film, "Wetherby," which he wrote and directed, won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the Berlin Festival in 1985. He also directed "The Designated Mourner," "Strapless" and "Paris By Night. " In addition to writing the screenplays for most of his films, he also wrote the screenplay for Louis Malle's "Damage" starring Jeremy Irons, Miranda Richardson and Juliette Binoche. His next film, "The Corrections," which is based on Jonathan Franzen's best-selling novel, will also be produced by Scott Rudin.
In 1997, the French government made Hare an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres, and in 1998 the British government knighted him for services to the theatre.
MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM (Author) was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1952 and grew up in La Cańada, California. He received his B. A. in English literature from Stanford University and his M. F. A. from the University of Iowa. His novel, The Hours, upon which David Hare adapted his screenplay by the same name, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) in 1998 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1999 as well as the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
Previously, Cunningham's novel, A Home at the End of the World, was published by FSG in 1990 to wide acclaim. Flesh and Blood, another novel, followed in 1995. His work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review and The New Yorker. His story "White Angel" was chosen for Best American Short Stories 1989.
Cunningham has received much recognition for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1993, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1988 and a Michener Fellowship from the University of Iowa in 1982. Currently living in New York City, Cunningham published his most recent book in August 2002, a nonfiction work entitled Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown.
MARK HUFFAM (Executive Producer) is currently producing "Thunderbirds" (in pre-production) and "Johnny English" (in post-production) for Working Title Films/Universal. "Johnny English" stars Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Ben Miller, Natalie Imbruglia and Tim Pigott-Smith.
Huffams other credits include producer on "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," starring Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz and John Hurt, and co-producer on "Quills," the Oscarâ- nominated film directed by Philip Kaufman, starring Geoffrey Rush, Michael Caine, Kate Winslet and Joaquin Phoenix. Huffam also served as associate producer/unit production manager on "Saving Private Ryan" for Dreamworks/Paramount.
Currently, Huffam has in development with Working Title Films on "Jonjo Mickybo," scheduled to shoot at the end of 2003 and "The Answer," scheduled to start shooting early in 2004. He is also developing "Vivo," an adaptation of Louis De Bernieres' novel Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord, "Shanghai" written by Hossein Amini and "4 Knights," an original screenplay by Paul Webb with Iain Softley.
SEAMUS MCGARVEY, B. S. C. (Director of Photography) was born in Armagh, Northern Ireland, and began his career as a stills photographer. After attending film school, he began shooting documentaries and short films. In 1995, he shot Michael Winterbottom's feature debut "Butterfly Kiss. "
In 1997, McGarvey shot "Atlantic," directed by Sam Taylor-Wood (nominated for the 1998 Turner Prize), there beginning a long collaboration between the two - most recently McGarvey lighting Taylor-Wood's portrait series of Hollywood actors for GQ Magazine (November 2002 edition).
In 1998, McGarvey was invited to join the British Society of Cinematographers, becoming its youngest member.
McGarvey's recent film credits include "The Actors" starring Michael Caine and directed by Conor McPherson, "Enigma" starring Kate Winslet and directed by Michael Apted, "Wit" for HBO, starring Emma Thompson and directed by Mike Nichols, "High Fidelity" directed by Stephen Frears, "The War Zone," actor Tim Roth's award-winning directing debut and "The Winter Guest" directed by Alan Rickman.
McGarvey has also shot numerous music videos for such artists as Elton John, U2, Robbie Williams and PJ Harvey.
MARIA DJURKOVIC (Production Designer), while studying at Oxford University, won a scholarship in Theater Design at the Riverside Theater. Her career as a set designer spans 15 years, beginning with theater, opera and ballet productions at major U. K. theaters (Oxford Playhouse and the Royal Opera House) and later, popular television dramas, including "Spender," "Inspector Morse" and "In Your Dreams. " Her feature film credits include "Sweet Angel Mine," "Wilde" (for which she won the Evening Standard Best Technical Achievement Award in 1997), "Sliding Doors," "Fanny and Elvis" and Stephen Daldry's "Billy Elliot. "
ANN ROTH (Costume Designer), one of the most sought-after costume designers in the entertainment industry, began her theatrical career as a scenery painter for the Pittsburgh Opera Company. She soon moved to New York and assisted such costume designers as Irene Sharaff and Miles White. Among her Broadway credits are "Purlie," "The Women," "Play it Again, Sam," "They're Playing Our Song," "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," "The Odd Couple," "The House of Blue Leaves," "Hurlyburly," "The Real Thing" and "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. " She received Tony Award nominations for "The Crucifer of Blood," "The Royal Family" and "Present Laughter. "
Roth won an Academy Awardâ for "The English Patient. " Her first motion picture was "The World of Henry Orient" in 1964, and her first solo film credit was "Midnight Cowboy" in l969. Among her many films are "Klute," "The Day of the Locust" (for which she won a British Academy Award in l975), "The Goodbye Girl," "Coming Home," "Hair," "Dressed to Kill," "The World According to Garp," "Places in the Heart," "Sweet Dreams," "Working Girl," "Regarding Henry," "Pacific Heights," "Wolf," "Just Cause," "Sabrina," "The Bird Cage," "In and Out," "Primary Colors," "Random Hearts," "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Finding Forrester," "Changing Lanes," "Signs," "Adaptation" and the upcoming "Cold Mountain. "
Currently, Roth is working on Barry Sonnenfeld's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and Frank Oz's "The Stepford Wives. "
In 2000, she received the Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award.
PETER BOYLE (Editor), born in Formby, England, began his editing career as an assistant on Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers" in 1973. He continued as an assistant editor through the 1970s on Lester's "The Four Musketeers," "Robin and Marian" and "The Ritz," as well as Karel Reisz's "Who'll Stop the Rain" and Ken Annakin's "The Fifth Musketeer. " His first credit as editor was in 1980 on "McVicar. " Among his other films since that time are "The Razor's Edge," "A Prayer for the Dying," "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "Sommersby," "Rapa Nui," "Twelfth Night" and "Quills. "
PHILIP GLASS (Music), one of the most widely performed contemporary American composers, has shown a great affinity for film in his work. His motion picture scores include "Koyaanisqatsi," "Mishima," "Powaqqatsi," "Naqoyqatsi," "The Thin Blue Line," "A Brief History of Time" and "Candyman. " Critically acclaimed film scores include Martin Scorsese's "Kundun" -- which won Glass the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award in 1998, as well as Oscar and Golden Globe Nominations for Best Original Score -- and original music for Peter Weir's "The Truman Show," which won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in 1999. In addition, he composed new scores to be performed live with such classics as Tod Browning's "Dracula" and Jean Cocteau's "Orphée," "La Belle et la Bęte" and "Les Enfants Terribles. " One of his current touring projects is "Philip on Film," a culmination of 25 years of his work in film.
Born in Baltimore, Glass studied flute and violin as a child. He began majoring in mathematics and philosophy at the University of Chicago at 15 and graduated at 19. Determined to become a composer, he moved to New York and attended Julliard School of Music, then spent two years studying intensively under Nadia Boulanger in Paris. While in Paris he discovered Ravi Shankar and the techniques of Indian music, which had a profound effect on him. By 1974, he had composed a large collection of music, some of it for both the Mabou Mines Theater Company and a large portion for his own Philip Glass Ensemble. This period culminated in "Music in Twelve Parts," a three-hour summation of Glass' new music, and reached its apogee in 1976 with the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson opera "Einstein on the Beach," the four-hour epic now seen as a landmark in 20th-century musical theater.
In addition to "Einstein on the Beach," Glass has collaborated with Robert Wilson on several other projects including "the CIVIL warS" (Rome Section), a multi-composer epic written for the 1984 Olympic Games, "White Raven," an opera commissioned by Portugal to celebrate its history of discovery, which premiered at Expo 98 in Lisbon, and "Monsters of Grace," a digital 3-D opera. Glass' other operas include "Satyagraha," "Akhnaten," "The Making of the Representative for Planet 8" (libretto by Doris Lessing), "The Fall of the House of Usher," "Hydrogen Jukebox" (libretto by Allen Ginsberg) and "The Voyage" (libretto by David Henry Hwang). The latter received its world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera.
He has written songs with lyrics by David Byrne, Paul Simon, Laurie Anderson, and Suzanne Vega. Among his orchestral works are "Itaipu," "Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra," "Concerto for Cello and Orchestra," "Symphony No. 2," "Symphony No. 3," the "Low" and "Heroes" Symphonies (both based on the music of David Bowie and Brian Eno) and "Symphony No. 5--Requiem," "Bardo and Nirmanakaya," a large-scale work for chorus, voice and orchestra. His most recent premieres have included "Symphony No. 6" (Plutonian Ode), with text by Allen Ginsberg, commissioned by Carnegie Hall in honor of Glass' 65th birthday and the opera "Galileo, Galilei," commissioned by Chicago's Goodman Theater.
