ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

MR. BROOKS marks a major departure for Academy Award®-nominated screenwriter BRUCE A. EVANS (Director, Co-Screenwriter) and his second outing as a director. Evans previously directed the comedy “Kuffs,” starring Christian Slater and Mila Jovovich, which he also co-wrote with his long-time partner Raynold Gideon.

Evans and Gideon have been a screenwriting team since 1979's "A Man, A Woman and a Bank.” They went on to co-write the popular sci-fi romance “Star Man,” about an alien who takes the form of a young widow’s husband, directed by John Carpenter and starring Jeff Bridges in the title role. This was followed by “Stand By Me,” their adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “The Body,” which would become a classic coming-of-age story directed by Rob Reiner and starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix and Kiefer Sutherland. The screenplay garnered Evans and Gideon an Oscar® nomination, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and a Writer’s Guild Award nomination, among other accolades.

Next came the fantasy “Made In Heaven,” directed by Alan Rudolph and starring Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis; “Kuffs,” on which Evans made his directorial debut; and the pirate adventure “Cutthroat Island” directed by Rennie Harlin. The duo also served as production consultants on the box-office hit “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.” Continuing in the comedy vein, Evans and Gideon adapted the French film “Un Indien Dans La Ville” into the hit Tim Allen comedy “Jungle 2 Jungle.”

Evans has also served as a producer on Richard Donner’s critically admired “Assassins” starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas and Julianne Moore.

RAYNOLD GIDEON (Co-Screenwriter, Producer) received an Academy Award® nomination, along with his partner Bruce A. Evans, for “Stand By Me,” their adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “The Body,” which became a classic coming-of-age story directed by Rob Reiner and starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix and Kiefer Sutherland. He also received an Academy Award® nomination for the short film “Frog Story,” which he wrote, co-produced, and acted in.

Gideon’s partnership with Evans began in 1979 with “A Man, A Woman and a Bank.” They went on to co-write the popular sci-fi romance “Star Man,” about an alien who takes the form of a young widow’s husband, directed by John Carpenter and starring Jeff Bridges in the title role. This was followed by “Stand By Me,” which also garnered the Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and a Writer’s Guild Award nomination, among other accolades.

Gideon also co-wrote with Evans “Made In Heaven,” directed by Alan Rudolph and starring Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis; “Kuffs,” on which Evans made his directorial debut; and the pirate adventure “Cutthroat Island” directed by Rennie Harlin. Most recently, Gideon and Evans co-wrote the hit Tim Allen comedy “Jungle 2 Jungle,” adapted from the French film “Un Indien Dans La Ville.” The duo also served as production consultants on the family adventure “Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.”

Gideon has also served as a producer on many of the films he and Evans have written, including “Star Man,” “Stand By Me,” “Made In Heaven,” “Kuffs” and now MR. BROOKS. He also was a producer on “Assassins,” directed by Richard Donner and starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas and Julianne Moore.

Academy Award®-winning producer JIM WILSON (Producer) is a graduate of Antioch College and the Berkeley Film Institute. After college, he went on to found American Twist Productions, where he produced and directed numerous short films for clients such as The U.S. Tennis Association, Congoleum, Volvo, The Robert F. Kennedy Foundation and Kodak.

Wilson's first directorial effort in feature films was 1983's “Stacy’s Nights,” written by Michael Blake and starring Costner in his first leading role. Wilson then directed “The Movie Maker” in 1985 and served as associate producer on “Revenge,” which also starred Costner. More recently, he has directed “Head Above Water,” a comedic thriller starring Harvey Keitel, Cameron Diaz and Craig Sheffer; “Laffit: All About Winning,” a documentary chronicling the inspirational story of jockey Laffit Parcay, Jr. and, most recently, the youthful romance “Whirlygirl” starring Monet Mazur and Julian Morris.

In 1988 Wilson partnered with Costner to form Tig Productions. In 1990, the duo produced the epic “Dances With Wolves,” which Costner both starred in and directed. Written by Michael Blake, the film went on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Wilson produced the blockbuster “The Bodyguard” with Lawrence Kasdan, who also wrote the screenplay, and Costner, who starred with Whitney Houston. He then produced “Wyatt Earp” with Kasdan directing and Costner, Dennis Quaid and Gene Hackman starring. Wilson and Costner also produced “Rapa Nui” starring Jason Scott Lee and served as executive producers on the eight-hour television documentary “500 Nations.” They next produced the sci-fi adventure “The Postman” which Costner directed, followed by the hit romance “Message In A Bottle,” directed by Luis Mandoki and starring a cast that included Costner, Robin Wright Penn and Paul Newman.

JOHN LINDLEY, ASC (Director of Photography) most recently photographed “Reservation Road” for director Terry George and “Catch and Release” starring Jennifer Garner. He has photographed four films for director Nora Ephron – “Bewitched,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Michael” and “Lucky Numbers” – and has also enjoyed a long collaboration with director Joseph Ruben, including the films “Money Train,” “The Good Son,” “Sleeping with the Enemy,” “True Believer” and “The Stepfather.” Lindley’s additional credits include “The Sum of All Fears,” “The Core,” “Pleasantville,” “Father of the Bride,” “Sneakers,” “The Serpent and the Rainbow” and “Field of Dreams.” After completing his training at New York University Film School, Lindley began working in television. His credits include the telefilms “The Gentleman Bandit,” “An Invasion of Privacy,” “Badge of the Assassin,” “Rockabye,” “LBJ: The Early Years” and “Poor Little Rich Girl.” Lindley also filmed numerous rock videos, including The Talking Heads’ “Road to Nowhere.”

JEFFREY BEECROFT (Production Designer) has received numerous awards and nominations throughout his career, including an Academy Award® nomination for the Production Design of Dances With Wolves. Among other films Beecroft has created a singular look for are David Fincher's, “The Game,” Terry Gilliam's “Twelve Monkeys” and “Message in a Bottle.” Currently he is completing work on the feature film Mr. Brooks.

In 1994, 1995, 1999 and 2005 Beecroft received The Museum of Modern Art's Designer of the Year Award for commercial and music video work. Beecroft has also received two Art Director’s Guild nominations and the 2006 Art Directors Guild Award.

Having Received an MFA from New York University and a fellowship to Oxford University, Mr. Beecroft’s designs have been seen extensively in both theater and opera. On Broadway, he received two Tony Nominations for the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of “Cyrano de Bergerac” and “Much Ado About Nothing.” Among Beecroft’s West End productions are “Playboy of the Western World” for the Abbey Theater, the RSC’s “Troilus and Cressida,” “Hamlet,” “The Cherry Orchard,” the Old Vic's “After Aida” and the Royal Exchange productions of “Three Sisters” and “Oedipus Rex” for which he won the Evening Standard Award.

Beecroft's architectural and interior design work has appeared in Architectural Digest, The World of Interiors, Elle Décor, Cote Sud, Coastal Living, HG and Vanity Fair. He is currently designing the Otto Project for the Fondazione Prada Museum in Milan, Italy.

She also designed the costumes for “National Treasure,” “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” “For the Love of the Game,” “Gloria,” on which she designed the costumes for Sharon Stone, “Practical Magic,” “Great Expectations,” “The Devil’s Three-time Academy Award nominee JUDIANNA MAKOVSKY (Costume Designer) has 17 years of experience in the industry, where she is regarded as one of the most talented costume designers working today. Her artistry has been recognized with three Academy Award® nominations for her work on the period drama “Seabiscuit,” on the innovative film “Pleasantville,” and for her imaginative work in the blockbuster “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” which also earned her a BAFTA nomination. She was honored by her peers as she received a Costume Designers Guild Award for both “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Pleasantville,” as well as a nomination for “X-Men 3: The Last Stand.”

“Advocate,” “Lolita,” “White Squall,” “A Little Princess,” “The Quick and the Dead,” “The Ref, “The Specialist,” again costuming Sharon Stone, “Six Degrees of Separation,” “Reversal of Fortune,” “Big” and “Gardens of Stone.”

Her telefilm costuming credits include “Wild Palms,” “Miss Rose White, Margaret Bourke-White” and the pilot for Robert DeNiro’s series “Tribeca.” She is currently costume designing for “National Treasure 2.”

RAMIN DJAWADI (Composer), an accomplished and rising film composer, recently received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for “Prison Break.”

Born in Duisburg, Germany, Djawadi began his musical career as a guitar player in numerous bands in Germany. In 1995, he decided to move to the U.S. to earn a bachelor’s degree in film scoring and guitar performance at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. In 2000, Ramin moved to California to join Media Ventures, home of Academy Award® winner Hans Zimmer, which led to collaboration with Klaus Badelt and Hans Zimmer on such feature films as “Something’s Gotta Give,” the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Thunderbirds.”

He went on to compose the scores for the action hit “Blade: Trinity,” Robert Towne’s “Ask The Dust” and the animated feature “Open Season.” For television, he has composed for “Threshold,” “Blade: The Series” and “Prison Break.” The film’s soundtrack will be released on Milan Records on May 22nd.

Los Angeles-based Element Films, a subsidiary of SBE Entertainment Group, is committed to financing and producing motion pictures for theatrical distribution. Element also strategically partners with other production entities and studios on select motion pictures. Element’s founding partners are CEO Sam Nazarian, chairman of SBE Entertainment Group, and Element President Adam Rosenfelt. Element has a long-standing production and financing relationship with the state of Louisiana, and Element productions filmed in the state include not only MR. BROOKS, but also the comedy hit “Waiting,” starring Ryan Reynolds, “Five Fingers,” a drama starring Laurence Fishburne and Ryan Phillippe; “Freshman Orientation,” starring John Goodman; “The Last Time,” a comedic-drama currently in post production starring Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser; and the genre film "Evil Remains," starring Estella Warren. Element also produced “Down in the Valley,” starring Edward Norton and Evan Rachael Wood, and “Pride,” starring Terrence Howard and Bernie Mac.