LAST CHANCE HARVEY

STARRING ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS DUSTIN HOFFMAN & EMMA THOMPSON

DIRECTED BY JOEL HOPKINS

NOMINATED FOR 2 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Dustin Hoffman

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Emma Thompson

Release Date: February 26, 2009

Running Time: 93 minutes

Rating: PG (Mild coarse language)

1

SYNOPSISAcademy Award winners Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) and Emma Thompson (Sense

and Sensibility) reunite in Last Chance Harvey, a heartfelt romance that celebrates new beginnings - at any age. The film is written and directed by Joel Hopkins (Jump Tomorrow).

The supporting cast includes Dame Eileen Atkins (Cold Mountain, Gosford Park), Liane Balaban (Definitely Maybe, Happy Here and Now), James Brolin, (Traffic, Catch Me If You Can), Kathy Baker (The Jane Austen Book Club, Edward Scissorhands) and Richard Schiff (“The West Wing”). John de Borman (Serendipity, The Full Monty) is Director of Photography, with Jon Henson (The Wind In The Willows, I Could Never Be Your Woman) as Production Designer, Natalie Ward (Death At A Funeral, Breaking And Entering) as Costume Designer, and Marilyn Macdonald (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Good Shepherd) as Make-up and Hair Designer. Producers are Tim Perell and Nicola Usborne. Jawal Nga is Executive Producer.

New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Warned by his boss (Richard Schiff) that he has just one more chance to deliver, Harvey goes to London for a weekend to attend his daughter’s (Liane Balaban) wedding but promises to be back on Monday morning to make an important meeting - or else.

Harvey arrives in London only to learn his daughter has chosen to have her stepfather (James Brolin) walk her down the aisle. Trying to hide his devastation, Harvey leaves the wedding before the reception in hopes of getting to the airport on time, but misses the plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain, Harvey is fired on the spot.

Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate (Emma Thompson), a sensitive, 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate, whose life is limited to work, the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins), is touched by Harvey, who finds himself energized by her intelligence and compassion.

The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another’s lives.

2

ABOUT THE PRODUCTIONWriter and director Joel Hopkins’ quirky and original feature film debut Jump

Tomorrow charmed critics on both sides of the Atlantic and won him the 2002 BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. It also attracted the attention of Academy Award winning actress Emma Thompson, who was intrigued enough to sit down with Hopkins to discuss working together on a future project.

“She said she liked my work and I’m obviously a big fan of hers,” says Hopkins. “So I went away and thought of an idea for a character she could play. That was the beginning of this character Kate, who I just knew that Emma would be perfect for.”

For producer Nicola Usborne, the film was a great collaboration between the stars and their director, and ultimately a very personal film for Hopkins. “He came up with the idea, he wrote it, he developed this great relationship for Kate and Harvey. He grew up in London but spent a lot of time in America and I think it’s not a coincidence that this film is about an American in London as sort of a fusion of Joel’s two worlds.”

According to Tim Perell, who also produced Jump Tomorrow with Usborne, it was the writer-director’s utter lack of cynicism that caught Thompson’s eye. “She was interested in doing some kind of love story and Joel is one of these very people who sees the world in a very warm, rosy way. I don’t know if it’s that he’s completely naïve or he just lacks that irony gene that the rest of us all seem to have. But I think that’s one of the things that Emma really responded to in him. There is such warmth coming out of everything he does. He wrote such a richly detailed character that she responded positively to it.”

Hoffman and Thompson worked previously together, for the first time, on Stranger Than Fiction. “We only had a couple of scenes together in that film,” says Hoffman. “We used to walk the streets, learning our lines. We’d try to say them so people would think we were really just having a conversation that they were eavesdropping on. We really liked each other and responded to the way each other works. So at the end of the shoot, we said someday maybe we’ll get to make a movie together where we have bigger parts. And then she called me back in about a year. She’d met Joel Hopkins and he wrote something and I read it and we thought, wonderful - we can work together.”

“Dustin and I knew that we had chemistry,” says Thompson. “That is just something that happens sometimes - but not as often as you’d like. When Joel contacted me and asked if I had any thoughts about Last Chance Harvey, I said this would really suit me and Dustin down to the ground. If you make it specifically for him, I think this could work.

“Normally these things never work,” adds the actress. “It all sounds lovely - somebody who’s written his second script for two specific actors. It sounds like a no brainer, but it never gets made. It’s only because Dustin agreed to do it and agreed to do it for a lot less than he would normally be paid that it happened.”

The project actually came together very quickly, according to producer Perell. “Emma read the first draft of the script within twenty-four hours and sent an email saying ‘love it love it love it, let’s do it, can I send it to Dustin.’ You don’t say no to that.’

“I frankly thought it would just disappear into the ether,” says Perell. “But about forty-eight hours later she forwarded an email from Dustin with his very positive response. This was pretty much the first draft of the script and they all had notes and Joel kept tinkering away on it, but we essentially had the kinds of commitments we needed from Emma and Dustin to move forward in record time.”

Perell took the script to Robert Kessel of the recently formed studio Overture Films. “We all felt a certain amount of allegiance to Robert,” he says. “He’s been a fan of Joel’s for many years. In fact, he was on the jury when Joel’s NYU short film won the grand prize. The

3

response from Overture was incredibly encouraging and so we just pursued the relationship with them.”

For Hopkins, the opportunity to explore the idea of a more mature love affair between two very different characters was irresistible. “I think slightly older characters are just so much more interesting,” says the filmmaker. “They’ve experienced so many more things and they’ve got so much more baggage, which is good. Baggage is always interesting.”

Hoffman concurs: “I think one of the things that happens when a marriage fails is that you realize you don’t know what you think you know. You knew that this person was the one for you - or you thought you did - and it shatters your belief system and you shut down. What makes this film interesting is that these are two people who are no longer in the flush of youth. They’ve been so pained by the expectation of what they thought they were going to have, that they very much do not want to get involved with each other and I think that gives the film tension.”

As Thompson points out, “In fact, I think, falling in love when you’re older is devastating. It’s an enormous thing to happen, especially when you don’t think it’s going to come your way. Both of these characters in some way or other have resigned themselves. Not without effort, not without still wanting to work and do good things and have an interesting life. They still want all that, but the opportunities seem to be just out of their reach.

“I want to see people who I actually believe to exist, who are vaguely like me, falling in love,” she adds. “People who aren’t perfect, who aren’t so beautiful that anyone would go for them. You don’t see love stories about that, you just see very beautiful people falling in love with each other and I’m just bored, I’m bored witless. I don’t care about them!”

Thompson says she based her performance on real women she knows who just haven’t found the right person. “It doesn’t really matter what the age is,” she says. “It’s just not quite being able to find to find that connection - and not from want of trying. Kate does try. But it’s only somebody like Harvey who just happens into her life and won’t give up that makes her let her defenses down.”

Thompson, an Oscar -winning screenwriter herself, says she usually cautions against writers directing their own material. “But Joel had written and directed Jump Tomorrow, which I really loved and so I knew he was more than capable of directing his own script. For a young man on his second movie to be directing a movie legend like Hoffman is extraordinary. I don’t think Joel had ever worked with an actor who found their way towards the lines in quite such a unique fashion.”

Hopkins admits he learned something new every day on this shoot. “It’s been a pretty humbling experience, but amazing fun. I got very used to watching the actors but then suddenly I’d see them on the monitor, and I’m like, oh my God, that’s Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson and I’m directing them!”

“Kate and Harvey are at similar sticky points in their lives when they more or less collide,” Hopkins explains. “There aren’t many more chances. I think Dustin’s character is feeling the clock ticking and he’s looking for a chance to reshape things. He had decided his fate was this one thing and suddenly he gets this shot of energy that he’s determined to make the most of.”

Hoffman observes that Hopkins is the kind of director who visualizes every shot before he ever sets foot on set but still allows improvisation. “He recognized the energy Emma and I have together and he was responsive to it,” says the actor. “We didn’t know the way the scenes would go. Sometimes we would see a scene that he had written and say to him, ‘We don’t think we have to say all of these lines, to make the scene work.’ I think Joel liked it.”

Working with two extraordinarily gifted and experienced players, says Hopkins, made him reconsider some of his preconceived notions about the film. “I learned that I actually

4

have a better sense of what I’m after than I thought I did. It allows me to hopefully be a bit freer ultimately, because I know I do have a quite good sense of what the essence of each scene is. The flipside is that I can probably be a bit precious with it and say, ‘That’s not how I wrote it.’ The challenge was to be open to what’s happening and to realize when what’s happening on set is better than what I wrote.”

Tim Perell observes that everyone involved with Last Chance Harvey, from the stars to the studio, took a leap of faith in putting the project in the hands of a sophomore director. “Joel’s first movie was a million dollar movie with great actors, but no movie stars and a very small crew,” says the producer. “This is a huge jump for him. None of us knew what it was going be like. He’s done an extraordinary job and he’s had a lot to deal with. He’s made a movie with a studio for the first time, with an enormous crew and a lot of money on the line. He’s had two major movie stars that have needed him through this movie and he’s been able to manage them and support them and give to them in a way that has shown up on screen in a great way. You can see the connection Dustin and Emma have with Joel and the trust that they have in him up there on the screen.”

5

CASTING LAST CHANCE HARVEY“I think it’s true when they say directing is mostly getting your casting right,” says

Hopkins. “I got it right and I didn’t need to do much more. I’m just there to tell them where to stand.”

Having Hoffman and Thompson onboard made it easier for filmmakers to assemble a stellar supporting cast, says producer Nicola Usborne. “When you have Dustin and Emma you can attract a lot of fantastic actors.”

Hopkins’ rule for identifying the right actors for the film was simple: “I think I wrote it on a Post-it note, ‘No baddies in this movie.’ I wanted everyone to have three dimensions, at least, and not be caricatures. We got this great start obviously with Dustin and Emma, but each role has a key part to play and you must keep up the strength in casting all the way through the film. We ended up with an embarrassment of amazing talent. We have great actors playing crucial roles that could so easily be black and white characters that you just write off.”

Perell agrees: “We were so lucky with the casting, so lucky. Richard Schiff as Harvey’s boss, Marvin, was a revelation. Kathy Baker is a dream and James Brolin is exactly who Joel originally conceived for the part. We felt so lucky to convince him somehow to come over to London for two weeks and do this. Liane Balaban is just a huge, huge discovery.

“Eileen Atkins is perfect for the role of Kate’s mother, Maggie,” continues the producer. “She and Emma do actually kind of look alike and there’s this phenomenal chemistry between them. Again, it comes back to the Joel Hopkins view of the world. There is an enormous amount of warmth and humor, but also a certain amount of frustration as well.”

Those nuanced performances proved invaluable in quickly conveying the two main characters’ histories and complex emotional states. “We didn’t have a lot of time for back story for each and every character. In the wedding sequences, we really have to see Harvey’s past very economically painted and when you have this level of actors, they really help you achieve that.”

Hopkins concurs, adding, “I can do a bit with the writing, but when you get solid actresses like Kathy and Eileen, they help to make these smaller parts really come to life. They all made their roles more than I wrote. I learned new stuff about the characters each day because they knew them better now than I did.”

With Hoffman and Thompson he says, “The best thing for me to do is to give them a lot of freedom and be there when they need me.”

Producer Perell was fascinated by the difference between the two stars’ acting techniques. “Emma couldn’t be more different in terms of her process than Dustin. She has a calmness and a groundedness that’s just extraordinary to watch. When she comes in, she’s clearly thought an enormous amount about what she’s doing, about every inch, every word that she has to say. And she’ll do it as many different ways as is needed, but it seems sort of effortless with her.

“Whereas with Dustin you see the machinery at work, he’s very naked with his process,” observes Perell. “He has this completely sprawling mind, but nothing escapes him. Every detail is examined, is questioned, is analyzed, is processed and what’s really most fascinating is that you see him processing it and he’s processing it as Harvey, not as Dustin. It elevates the performance. It elevates all of us, but you definitely cannot relax, you cannot sit back. Things will be questioned, so you always need to know why and where and how.”

6

Thompson says it’s working with Hoffman that is effortless. “We both work in the same way in the sense that we want to be completely real, completely spontaneous. You can only do that with a limited number of people. The fact is, I don’t care what his process is, we just get on set and play. Dustin is such a consummate artist. Every single moment has to be found and made and newly minted.”

“Emma and I have done character roles all our acting lives,” Hoffman points out. “This time, we wanted to do something very close to ourselves.”

“Emma can be sitting on a bus by herself, as she is in one of the scenes here,” Hoffman continues. “She just puts her head against the glass and there is an essence of such vulnerability. In life there’s a lot of time when we’re really alone and don’t want to be. She just has that in her in her soul and it’s extraordinary how she shares that with us.”

Hoffman and Thompson have as much in common as they do in contrast, according to Usborne. “Both Dustin and Emma have this facility with comedy and drama, and they can move so lightly between the two. There are some very, very funny moments in the film, and I don’t think they detract from the sort of truth and honesty of the emotion.

“At the beginning of the script, Harvey does things that make the audience question him, and yet there is something about Dustin Hoffman and the way he plays this part that makes you really believe in him and feel for him,” says the producer. “You never lose that sympathy for him even though you might think some of his choices have not been correct. As soon as you see him on camera you completely sympathize with him. I don’t know what it is about his face or his body language that just allows you to be aligned with him, almost no matter what he’s doing.”

James Brolin, who plays Harvey’s ex-wife’s current husband, is “as manly as any man can be,” says Perell, “He’s got this amazing shock of white hair, he’s incredibly tall, and undeniably handsome. There’s something very imposing about him, so when Harvey arrives at the rehearsal dinner and we reveal his ex-wife with James Brolin, again your heart just breaks for poor Harvey, because this is what he’s got to go up against.”

Brolin says few many romantic pictures work as well as this one does. “First of all, Joel writes good material. He works from a very sweet and definite position. He believes that no matter how far the chips are down and luck is gone, there’s no such thing as, ‘That’s it.’”

Brolin was also impressed with Hopkin’s soft spoken assurance as a director. “You quietly bring your chair closer to him so that you can hear him better, rather than back off and say okay, okay, okay I’ll think about that.”

Harvey’s estranged daughter is played by up and coming young Canadian actress Liane Balaban. “When I first read the script, I knew it was such a beautiful, thoughtful story that it really needed to be told. What was touching to me was the real honest human kind of damage that all the characters have, especially Harvey. He’s honest and real and not that likeable. He’s made the kind of mistakes in his life that a lot of people have, so I think many people can identify with the estrangement and families going astray, being alone in life, facing really difficult odds.”

She describes working on the film as “the best acting school in the world. Dustin examines everything and he asks himself if every moment is true to life, so he really brings himself to the character. He also likes to play around; he likes to improvise a little bit, which is exciting and kind of scary.”

Daniel Lapaine, who plays Liane’s bridegroom, signed up solely on the strength of the cast. He had never even seen the full script. “Often in these Hollywood films, they’re quite secretive about letting people see the scripts,” he says. “I’d only seen my scenes, but when I heard that Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson were in it, it would have been pretty hard to say no.”

7

Lapaine says he’s delighted with that decision. “I’m working with Dustin Hoffman,” he says. “I mean, it doesn’t get much better than that. He raises your game and makes you better. I couldn’t give more of a compliment to him than that.”

8

PARIS ON THE THAMESThe London of Last Chance Harvey will surprise some people who know the city

well–or think they do. Rather than set the action against such familiar landmarks as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, the filmmakers give viewers an insider’s perspective of the English capitol. As Harvey and Kate get to know each other, they wander the streets in a series of impromptu walking tours that showcase London as a city to fall in love with - and in.

“It’s a very romantic city,” says born-and-bred Londoner Emma Thompson. “It’s full of incredible nooks and crannies and views and vistas. I actually get quite homesick for London, so coming back was a pleasure. The picture is a bit of a valentine to the city.”

The pair’s walks take them all over the city, from the courtyard of the immense 16th century palace Somerset House at dawn to the south side of the Thames in the late afternoon sun.

By painting a picture of the city through Harvey’s eyes, where everything looks new, Hopkins was able to depict London in a way it has never been seen onscreen. “This is a more elegant side of London than is typically featured in films,” says the director. “I definitely wanted to capture the excitement of being in a city you’ve known quite well, but have been away from and are looking at with fresh eyes.”

Achieving that freshness in one of the oldest and most photographed cities in the world was a challenge, says production designer Jon Henson, who has worked on numerous London shoots. “We were constantly looking for new places, or places we have seen before but are looking at in a different way. In the end, it was a process of choosing the right elements. Joel wanted to have an international-looking London, so it wasn’t the sights of London so much, but something that could be London, could be Prague, could be Paris. We felt that looking at the older elements in the city would be more romantic.”

“It really does feel like you’re walking along the Seine in Paris,” says Tim Perell of the couple’s strolls along the Thames. “The Southbank Center and the whole walk along there really is modern London. And you can see across the river to old London, to St Paul’s Cathedral and all these old great English buildings. Then in the background are all these huge cranes and you see where London is going. It’s just one of the most spectacular places in London, I think.”

In fact, the image of “London as Paris” was the film’s guiding visual philosophy. “It wasn’t meant to be a picture postcard or something that you might see in a tourist book, but a very romantic backdrop for two people falling in love,” says producer Nicola Usborne. “We wanted to make a film about two people getting to know each other and falling in love over a weekend in a sort of iconic London.”

“There’s a lovely scene where Harvey’s waiting for Kate outside her evening class and we found this autumn grass that was about six-feet high just gently blowing in the wind,” he says. “We sat Harvey in front of this. He’s quite a wistful character anyway and he’s constantly in thought. The image of him in front of this grass was just glorious. We latched on to all the autumnal colors of that scene and started to develop those throughout the film.”

Hoffman credits Hopkins and cinematographer John de Borman for helping him to see London in a new light. “They really did find the romance that’s in London. The locations were very carefully picked by people who really knew the city. I’d been to London many times in the last thirty years but I’d never seen some of those locations.”

That visual approach to the setting carried over to the lead characters, according to Perell. “We really wanted Dustin and Emma to look sexy and beautiful. You don’t often see people of that age looking beautiful and sexy onscreen, and that was a really important component of it. Emma wears a green uniform throughout, but we had it tailored and fitted

9

so that it actually makes her look really sexy.”

What the filmmakers did not want was “a sugar-coated romantic comedy,” says Perell. “As much as I enjoy those movies, that wasn’t right for this story. But it wasn’t a small, independent British movie either. Our audience is sophisticated, so it had to have a certain look and beauty to it. We needed something that was incredibly elegant, that looked really beautiful and rich but authentic, like the performances, real, but with a sheen to it.

London also provided the filmmakers with what they feel was an ideal crew. “They all really genuinely responded to the script,” says Hopkins. “You could just tell that everyone seemed to get something out of the script and it felt like we were all trying to make the same movie.”

Director of photography John de Borman has shot everything from gritty independents like Hideous Kinky to slick Hollywood romances including Shall We Dance. That range made him the perfect choice for this film, says Perell. “We knew Joel was going be sucked into the world of the actors and we wanted somebody who could be a real rock for Joel and help him through the coverage. John is also someone that Dustin and Emma could see behind the camera and be reassured that there was someone on hand with his degree of wisdom and experience.”

Hopkins says he depended on de Borman’s expertise from day one. “I told John ‘This is a big step up for me. I’m working with A-list actors and I’ve never done that before. I’m nervous and I need you to really be in charge of the shots.’”

The writer-director admits, though, “When it comes down to it, I’m bit of a control freak, so when Dustin and Emma didn’t need me, I had to go somewhere.”

The film, says production designer Henson, is split into three worlds. “You have Harvey’s world, Kate’s world and then Harvey’s daughter’s world. Harvey is very tired, his job’s a dead end job. We went for lots of beige and dusty colors, dated furniture. All the stuff we used in his recording studio is very old fashioned. His world is out of date in contrast to what we see in his daughter’s world, which has lots of reflection, lots of expensive fabrics. It’s much glossier. Kate’s world is incredibly natural and down to earth. There’s a contrast and juxtaposition there that that hopefully is quite dynamic.”

“Last Chance Harvey is a very romantic film,” says Nicola Usborne. “We watch two people who had given up on love find it again, and I think we believe that they will continue with that love. It’s not that there won’t be hiccups along the way, but I do think you leave this film with a sense of hope and optimism and romance. We always joke that Joel can’t make a film with a sad ending. He has a very romantic spirit.”

Thompson says the point of the film is very simple. “It’s about love. It’s about human connection. It’s about two people allowing themselves to love at a time of life where it might not be the easiest option. For Harvey, you know it’s his last chance. And possibly, very possibly, it is for Kate. Yes, she’s got her life, she does her thing, she looks after her mum, and she’s very good at it all. Maybe she’ll write that book and maybe, maybe, maybe. Then something happens to illuminate her life.”

The character of Harvey and his emotional dilemma came from a very personal point of reference for Hoffman. “I just played what my life would be like if I had not met my wife Lisa, who I’ve been with for about 34 years,” he says. “That wasn’t hard to do, because after that first real love affair fractures, you really do feel love’s just not meant for you.”

As a woman still in her 20s, Liane Balaban found the movie enormously inspiring. “This is an adult love story about people with life experience. It’s not your typical boy meets girl boy loses girl. There’s so much more going on and the relationship between them is so much more complex and interesting than a lot of the relationships you see in other movies.

“I think it’s saying that you always have a chance, that there’s never a situation that

10

you can’t try to make better,” says the actress. “Even when you think you’re at the end of your rope, there’s always a little more.”

“I’m not interested in twenty-somethings falling in love,” Joel Hopkins says. “They’re not ready. This kind of relationship isn’t often depicted, but it’s fascinating in a way that twenty-somethings can’t be. It takes time to become fully realized people and I guess that it has taken these two people a long, long time to do that. But now, they’re ready to fall in love.”

11

ABOUT THE CASTDUSTIN HOFFMAN (Harvey Shine) is a two-time Academy Award winner and

seven-time nominee whose arrival in Hollywood helped usher in a new and revitalized approach to filmmaking, Dustin Hoffman continues to add singular performances to a career rich with characters that have obliterated the line previously dividing the archetypes of "character actor" and "leading man."

Hoffman caught the world's attention for his role as Benjamin Braddock in Mike Nichol's Academy Award nominated film, The Graduate. Since then, he has been nominated for six more Academy Awards for diverse films such as Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, Tootsie (a film he also produced through his company, Punch Productions), and Wag the Dog. Hoffman won the Oscar in 1979 for his role in Kramer Vs. Kramer and again in 1988 for Rain Man.

Hoffman will lend his voice to the animated feature, The Tale of Despereaux for Universal Pictures. The Tale of Despereaux is adapted from Kate DiCamillo's children's book and co-stars Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Tracy Ullman, Robbie Coltraine and Justin Long. The Tale of Despereaux will be released on December 19, 2008.

Hoffman was last heard as the voice of "Shifu" in the box office hit, Kung Fu Panda for DreamWorks Animation, which co-stars Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu and Ian McShane. Kung Fu Panda was released on June 6, 2008 and has grossed over $625 million worldwide.

His other film credits include: Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Stranger Than Fiction, Perfume, Meet the Fockers, Finding Neverland, I Heart Huckabee’s, The Lost City, Racing Stripes, Runaway Jury, Little Big Man, Straw Dogs, Papillon, All the President's Men, Marathon Man, Straight Time, Agatha, Ishtar, Dick Tracy, Billy Bathgate, Mad City, Hero, Sleepers, Sphere, American Buffalo, Hook, and Outbreak.

On stage, Hoffman has had an equally impressive career. His first stage role was in the Sarah Lawrence College production of Gertrude Stein's "Yes is for a Very Young Man." This performance led to several roles Off Broadway, such as "Journey of the Fifth Horse," for which he won the Obie, and "Eh?", for which he won the Drama Desk Award for Best Actor. His success on stage caught the attention of Mike Nichols, who cast him in "The Graduate." In 1969, Hoffman made his Broadway debut in Murray Schisgal's "Jimmy Shine." In 1974, Hoffman made his Broadway directorial debut with Schisgal's "All Over Town." In 1984, Hoffman garnered a Drama Desk Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Willy Loman in the Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman" which he also produced. In addition to starring in the Broadway production, a special presentation aired on television and Hoffman won the Emmy Award. Additionally, Hoffman received a Tony Award Nomination for his role as Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" which he reprised from his long run on the London Stage.

As a producer, Hoffman produced Tony Goldwyn's feature film A Walk on the Moon starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. He executive produced "The Devil's Arithmetic" which won two Emmy Awards.

Hoffman was born in Los Angeles and attended Santa Monica Community College. He later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse before moving to New York to study with Lee Strasberg.

Hoffman serves as the chair of the Artistic Advisory Board for the newly constructed Eli and Edythe Broad Stage Theater, which opened on September 20, 2008. This intimate 499-seat state-of-the-art theater provides a much-needed performance facility for Santa Monica College and the surrounding community.

EMMA THOMPSON (Kate) is one of the world’s most respected talents for her

12

versatility in acting as well as screenwriting. In 1992, Thompson caused a sensation with her portrayal of Margaret Schlegel in the Merchant-Ivory adaptation of EM. Forster’s Howard’s End. Sweeping the Best Actress category wherever it was considered, the performance netted her a BAFTA Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Award, New York Film Critics Award, Golden Globe and Academy Award. She earned two Oscar nominations the following year for her work in The Remains of the Day and In the Name of the Father. In 1995, Thompson’s adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, directed by Ang Lee, won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. For her performance in the film she was honored with a Best Actress award from BAFTA and nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.

In 2006, Thompson co-starred, to critical acclaim, with Dustin Hoffman and Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction for director Mark Forster. In 2004, she brought to the screen JK Rowling’s character of Sybil Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, for director Alfonso Cuaron, and in 2007, she reprised the role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, for director David Yates. In 2004, Thompson appeared in her own adaptation of Nanny McPhee, directed by Kirk Jones. She recently completed the screenplay for the sequel, Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang, and will again star in the title role when production begins in Spring 2009.

Thompson was born in London to Eric Thompson, a theatre director and writer, and Phyllida Law, an actress. She read English at Cambridge and was invited to join the school’s long-standing Footlights comedy troupe, which elected her Vice President. While still a student, she co-directed Cambridge’s first all-women revue “Women’s Hour,” made her television debut on BBC-TV’s “Friday Night, Saturday Morning” as well as her radio debut on BBC Radio’s “Injury Time.”

Throughout the 1980’s Thompson frequently appeared on British TV, including widely acclaimed recurring roles on the Granada TV series “Alfresco,” BBC’s “Election Night Special” and “The Crystal Cube” (the latter written by fellow Cambridge alums Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie), and a hilarious one-off role as upper-class twit Miss Money Sterling on “The Young Ones.” In 1985, Channel 4 offered Thompson her own TV special, “Up for Grabs” and in 1988 she wrote and recorded her own BBC series called “Thompson.”

She continued to pursue an active stage career concurrently with her TV and radio work, appearing in “A Sense of Nonsense” touring England in 1982, the self-penned “Short Vehicle” at the Edinburgh Festival in 1983, “Me and My Girl” first at Leicester and then London’s West End in 1985, and “Look Back in Anger” at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue in 1989.

Thompson’s feature film debut came in 1988, starring opposite Jeff Goldblum in the comedy The Tall Guy. She then played Katherine in Kenneth Branagh’s film-directing debut Henry V and went on to star opposite Branagh in three of his subsequent directorial efforts, Dead Again (1991), Peter’s Friends (1992), and Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

Thompson’s other film credits include Junior (1994), Carrington (1995), and The Winter Guest (1997). She has also starred in three projects directed by Mike Nichols: Primary Colors (1998) and the HBO telefilms “Wit” (2001, in a Golden Globe-nominated performance) and “Angels in America” (2002, Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, Golden Satellite Award nomination, Emmy Award nomination). Also in 2002, she starred in Imagining Argentina for director Christopher Hampton and Love Actually for director Richard Curtis. The latter film netted Thompson a number of accolades, including Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2004 Evening Standard Film Awards, a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2004 BAFTA Awards, Best Supporting Actress at the 2004 London Film Critics Circle Awards, Best British Actress at the 2004 Empire Film Awards and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2004 Golden Satellite Awards. She also voiced Captain Amelia in Treasure Planet for Disney.

13

EILEEN ATKINS (Maggie) is highly respected around the world for her distinguished career on stage and screen. She shared a SAG Award for Best Ensemble with her co-stars from the cast of Robert Altman’s Gosford Park (2001) and her supporting role in The Dresser (1983) earned her a BAFTA nomination. Created Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1990, Atkins was raised to Dame Commander in 2001. She was recently seen in Lajos Koltai’s Evening, with Meryl Streep.

Born in London, Atkins was a student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She made her first appearance in London as Jaquenetta in “Love’s Labours Lost” for Robert Atkins at the Open Air Theatre, Regents Park. Seasons in repertory followed, including two years with the RSC at Stratford-upon-Avon. She went on to work at the Old Vic, where her roles included the Queen in “Richard II,” Miranda in “The Tempest,” and Viola in “Twelfth Night” in 1962.

Feature film credits include The Dresser, Equus, and the role of Mrs Bentley in Let Him Have It, directed by Peter Medak. She appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in Mike Nichols’ 1994 feature Wolf. Atkins co-starred in Jack and Sarah for director Tim Sullivan; The Avengers, directed by Jeremiah Chechnick; Stephen Daldry’s The Hours, with Nicole Kidman; and Robert Altman’s multiple award-winning Gosford Park, playing the role of Mrs Croft. In 2002, Atkins appeared in American Girl, directed by Dennie Gordon, and Anthony Minghella’s Cold Mountain.

Among Atkins’ other film credits are Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair, Robert Towne’s Ask The Dust, The Queen Of Sheba’s Pearls, written and directed by Colin Nutley, The Feast Of The Goat, directed by Luis Llosa and the independent film Scenes Of A Sexual Nature, directed by Ed Blum.

Atkins’ numerous television credits include leading roles in “The Three Sisters,” “The Heiress,” “Olive and The Letter,” and the title roles in “Major Barbara,” “The Duchess of Malfi,” “Electra,” “The Lady From The Sea,” and “The Jean Rhys Woman.” She played John Osborne’s mother in “A Better Class Of Person” (Granada Television), Mrs Morel in the BBC Television adaptation of “Sons And Lovers,” Stella Kirby in “Eden End” (Yorkshire Television) and Tamara in the BBC Television Shakespeare production of “Titus Andronicus.” Atkins appeared in “Smiley’s People,” “The Burston Rebellion,” and “Breaking Up,” all for BBC TV. She co-starred with Lee Remick and Dirk Bogarde in the BBC telefilm “The Vision.”

In 1991, Atkins portrayed Mrs Pankhurst in Oyster Television’s “In My Defence” series before starring opposite Brian Cox in “The Lost Language of Cranes,” a Screen Two telefilm written by Sean Mathias and directed by Nigel Finch. In 1993, Atkins played Mrs Maitland in “The Maitlands,” directed by Lindsey Posner and produced by Simon Curtis for the BBC Performance series. She played Judith Starkadder in Stella Gibbons’ “Cold Comfort Farm,” directed by John Schlesinger for the BBC. She starred as Jane Murdstone in Peter Medak’s “David Copperfield” and played the role of Emily in “Women Talking Dirty.” She also appeared in BBC’s “Sleepers” and “Love Again,” “Bertie & Elizabeth” for Carlton and “The Lives of Animals” for BBC4.

Recent TV credits include “Waking The Dead” and “Miss Marple: Towards Zero.” She will next appear in “Cranford” and “Ballet Shoes” for the BBC.

In the contemporary theatre, Atkins’ credits include “Semi Detached” with Laurence Olivier, “Exit The King” with Alec Guinness, and “The Restoration of Arnold Middleton.” She won the 1965 Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for her performance as Childie in “The Killing Of Sister George,” and made her New York debut in this play. She returned to New York in 1967 to appear in “The Promise.”

In 1968 she appeared in “The Cocktail Party” at Chichester, which subsequently transferred to the West End and in Peter Gill’s “The Sleepers Den” at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs.

14

Atkins won a Variety Club Award for her role as Elizabeth in Robert Bolt’s “Vivat! Vivat! Regina” at the 1970 Chichester Festival and later at the Piccadilly Theatre, a performance she repeated in New York.

Other London theatre credits include the title roles in “Suzanna Andler” at the Aldwych Theatre, “St Joan” at the Old Vic and “Medea” at the Young Vic. She played Nell in “Passion Play” for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Aldwych, presented an evening of TS. Eliot’s poetry at the Lyric Theatre and appeared in “Exclusive” at the Playhouse Theatre, directed by Michael Rudman.

At the National Theatre, Atkins played Hesione in John Schlesinger’s acclaimed production of “Heartbreak House” and leading roles in productions of “Cymbeline” and Pinter’s “Mountain Language.” She received an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in Peter Hall’s production of “The Winter’s Tale” and was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Hanna Jelkes in Tennessee Williams’ “The Night Of The Iguana,” directed by Richard Eyre at the Lyttleton Theatre. She played Gunhild Borkman opposite Paul Scofield and Vanessa Redgrave in the hugely successful “John Gabriel Borkman,” again directed by Richard Eyre.

In 1989, Atkins received great critical acclaim when she appeared as Virginia Woolf in her one-woman show “A Room Of One’s Own” at the Lamb’s theatre in New York, where she received the Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performance and a special citation in a practically unanimous vote from the New York Drama Critics Circle. She then took the show on a short nationwide tour of the US. including a season at the Westwood Center in Los Angeles. She also recreated the role for Thames television in a version filmed on location at Girton College, Cambridge, the venue of Mrs Woolf’s original lecture. Most recently, she revived the play at the Hampstead theatre.

In 1992, Atkins premiered her own play, “Vita and Virginia,” at the Chichester Festival Theatre, playing Virginia Woolf opposite Penelope Wilton’s Vita Sackville West. The show played a season at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End.

She has appeared many times on the American stage, where her credits include “As You Like It” at Stratford, Connecticut; “The Duchess of Malfi” at the Mark Taper Center, Los Angeles; “Mary Barnes” at the Long Wharf Theatre, Connecticut and the title role of “Prin” at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Her last appearance on the New York stage was starring in “Indiscretions (Les Parents Terribles),” directed by Sean Mathias, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

Atkins appeared in Edward Albee’s “A Delicate Balance” with Maggie Smith at the Haymarket, directed by Anthony Page. She played The Woman in the RSC’s “The Unexpected Man” opposite Michael Gambon, a role for which she won an Olivier Award for Best Actress. Atkins went on to enjoy success with this role on Broadway. Atkins appeared with Corin Redgrave in “Honour” at the National Theatre, directed by Roger Michell, for which she won the Olivier Award for Best Actress. She appeared on Broadway in William Nicholson’s “Retreat From Moscow,” for which she received a Tony nomination. In 2005, Atkins appeared as Meg in Harold Pinter’s play “The Birthday Party” at the Duchess Theatre, London, directed by Lindsay Posner. 2006 saw her play Sister Aloysius in “Doubt,” which enjoyed a successful run on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theater and was directed by Doug Hughes.

In 2007, Atkins appeared at the Almeida Theatre as Bridget in “There Came Gypsy Riding” by Frank McGuinness, directed by Michael Attenborough. She begins 2008 with a revival of “The Sea,” playing Louise Rafi in Jonathan Kent’s production at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

LIANE BALABAN (Susan) made a major splash with her debut in the lead role of Alan Moyle's New Waterford Girl. For her performance, Balaban received a Special Jury Citation at the 24th Annual Toronto International Film Festival and a Canadian Comedy

15

Award nomination.

Variety described Balaban’s performance opposite Kevin Pollack in Gary Yates' critically acclaimed Seven Times Lucky as "unforgettable." She recently starred in the miniseries “Above & Beyond,” directed by Sturla Gunnarson and co-starring Richard E Grant and completed the pilot Abroad, both for the CBC.

Recent projects include “St Urbain’s Horseman,” based on the novel by Mordecai Richler, and Definitely, Maybe, written and directed by Adam Brooks for Working Title/ Universal Pictures, with Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Derek Luke and Isla Fisher. Other upcoming films include One Week opposite Joshua Jackson and You Might As Well Live with Michael Madsen and Clark Johnson.

Balaban’s previous film credits include leading roles in John L'Ecuyer’s Saint Jude; Jeremy Podeswa's After the Harvest opposite Sam Shepard; Bart Freundlich's World Traveller with Julianne Moore and Billy Crudup and Michael Almereyda's Happy Here and Now with David Arquette and Ally Sheedy.

JAMES BROLIN (Brian), recipient of an Emmy and two Golden Globe Awards, is one of television’s best-known, most popular stars. His wide-reaching acting credits range from tightly written dramas to large-scale action-adventures. Though he has worked extensively in all genres, Brolin is best known for his starring role in two long-running series: “Marcus Welby MD.,” which earned him an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and the immensely popular drama “Hotel.” He co-stars with Richard Gere in The Hunting Party and is set to begin Oliver Stone’s Pinkville, starring Bruce Willis.

Brolin also starred in the action-adventure “Extreme” and the Western serial drama “Angel Falls.” His long-form work includes “Trapped,” the highest rated telefilm of its season, and the CBS mini-series “And The Sea Will Tell.” He also hosted the ABC primetime wildlife reality series “The World Of Discovery” and guest starred on the NBC hit drama series “West Wing.” His work in “The Reagans” earned him Emmy and Golden Globes nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or Television Movie.

The actor guest-starred in Lifetime’s “Widow on the Hill” opposite Natasha Henstridge and USA Network’s “Category 7: The End of The World.” He has completed production on the A&E telefilm “Wedding Wars.”

Brolin’s feature-film career blends box-office blockbusters and prestigious smaller independent productions, stretching back to 1962 when he made his motion picture debut in Take Her, She’s Mine with James Stewart and Sandra Dee. After a number of parts in other movies, Brolin landed a starring role opposite Jacqueline Bisset in a remake of Pickup on South Street called The Cape Town Affair. He has starred in such major films as West World, directed by best-selling author Michael Crichton, Capricorn One and The Amityville Horror, one of the highest grossing independent films of all time. He produced and starred in the critically acclaimed independent film Cheatin’ Hearts, and also starred in Allison Anders’ well-received drama Gas Food Lodging.

Some of Brolin’s more recent feature film work include a co-starring role in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, a leading role in Master of Disguise, alongside Dana Carvey, a supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, and a commanding part in Denzel Washington’s Antwone Fisher Story. Brolin also appeared in MGM’s A Guy Thing, starring opposite Julia Stiles, Jason Lee, and Selma Blair.

Other credits include Gable and Lombard, Lies and Alibis opposite Selma Blair and American Standard, which he also produced.

Brolin has established himself as a director of dramatic series television, taking on several episodes of “Pensacola: Wings Of Gold” (which he also executive produced and starred in), in addition to several episodes of “Hotel” and an episode of the ensemble Western series “The Young Riders.” Brolin’s feature film directorial debut, My Brother’s War,

16

in which he also starred, took home a Best Film award from the Hollywood Film Festival.

KATHY BAKER (Jean) won three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actor’s Guild Award for her work on the CBS television series “Picket Fences.” She also received a 2003 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in the TNT feature “Door To Door,” which garnered multiple Emmy Awards and an AFI Creative Ensemble Award. Baker also was nominated for back-to-back Emmys for her guest performances on “Touched by an Angel” and “Boston Public.”

Baker continues her role in the hit Jesse Stone franchise for CBS starring Tom Selleck. Her character was introduced in “Jesse Stone: Sea Change” and will reappear in the upcoming fifth and sixth installments “Jesse Stone: Thin Ice” and “No Remorse.” She also stars in the upcoming independent features Miss Nobody and Shades of Ray.

Baker has also recently appeared in a guest starring role on “Grey’s Anatomy” and has an upcoming guest arc on “Saving Grace.” Last season, Baker completed a pilot for CBS called “Babylon Fields,” co-written and directed by Michael Cuesta and also starring Ray Stevenson and Amber Tamblyn. Her other television credits include a guest arc on “Nip/Tuck,” a series regular role on “Boston Public,” “Picking Up, Dropping Off,” Spike Lee’s Showtime feature “Sucker Free City,” “Sanctuary,” “Ten Tiny Love Stories,” “Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her,” Showtime’s “Ratz,” the CBS mini-series “Shake, Rattle & Roll: An American Love Story,” the TNT series “Bull,” “Lush Life,” “Not in This Town,” the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie “A Season For Miracles” and “The Image.”

Baker made her film debut in The Right Stuff (1983). She has appeared in the remake of All The King’s Men, directed by Steven Zaillian, the independent feature Nine Lives, directed by Rodrigo Garcia and the critically-acclaimed Cold Mountain as well as 13 Going on 30, Fathers and Sons, Assassination Tango and The Glass House. For the Academy Award-winning film The Cider House Rules, Baker shared a Screen Actor’s Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture. She also had a starring role in the recent Sony Pictures Classics’ feature The Jane Austen Book Club, starring opposite Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman and Hugh Dancy.

Other feature film credits include Inventing the Abbotts, To Gillian on Her 37th

Birthday, Mad Dog and Glory, Jennifer Eight, Article 99, Edward Scissorhands, Street Smart (National Society of Film Critics’ Best Supporting Actress Award), Clean and Sober, Jacknife, Dad, Mister Frost and A Little Inside.

A veteran of the stage, Baker originated the role of May in Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love,” and, at the playwright’s request, took the part to New York along with co-star Ed Harris. The move resulted in a prestigious Obie Award for Baker. During the following year, Kathy continued to work on other successful stage productions such as “Desire Under the Elms” and “Aunt Dan and Lemon.” She returned to the stage in 2006 in a South Coast Repertory production of the Tracy Letts play “A Man From Nebraska,” which was directed by William Friedkin.

17

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERSJOEL HOPKINS (Writer/Director) won a BAFTA (Carl Foreman Award) for his

first feature, Jump Tomorrow, which was financed by Film Four. The film premiered at Sundance, won the Audience Award at Deauville Film Festival, and was nominated for five British Independent Film Awards. He has written scripts for production companies including Tiger Aspect, Tiny Dancer, The Film Consortium and Working Title.

Hopkins grew up in London and, after receiving a BA in Fine Art, attended the MFA Film program at New York University. His thesis project, Jorge, won the Wasserman Award and the inaugural Richard Vague Award. He currently resides in New York and London and has two young children.

TIM PERELL (Producer) was named one of Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch in 2007 and was awarded the Axium Producer’s Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. He is the president of Process, a production company based in New York City. Recent credits include John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus, which premiered in official selection at Cannes, and Trust the Man, starring Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup, which was released by Fox Searchlight. Perell also produced The Myth of Fingerprints, I’m with Lucy, The Opportunists, Jump Tomorrow and World Traveller. Perell’s recent projects include The Rebound starring Catherine Zeta Jones, written and directed by Bart Freundlich, and World’s Greatest Dad starring Robin Williams, written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait.

Acclaimed musical artists such as Bright Eyes and Scissor Sisters have turned to Process to produce their music videos. The company also has produced four films over the last three years for the Oxygen Network, the most recent becoming the highest-rated program in the network’s history. Process is currently developing films with Miguel Arteta, David Jacobson, Bart Freundlich and John Cameron Mitchell.

NICOLA USBORNE (Producer) produced Jake Kornbluth’s The Best Thief in the World, which was developed at the Sundance Institute, premiered in competition at the Festival, and won the Maryland Producers’ Award. She has worked with Joel Hopkins for the last 10 years. Among other projects, she produced Joel’s Jorge and Jump Tomorrow, for which Usborne received a BAFTA award. She is a former recipient of the Mark Silverman Producing Fellowship from Sundance.

Usborne has worked for many years as a Vice President for Scholastic, the worldwide children’s media company based in New York, developing video game and Internet businesses.

JAWAL NGA (Executive Producer) founded New York City-based film production company Tiny Dancer Films in 2003. He recently produced Married Life staring Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams, Patricia Clarkson and Chris Cooper. This is the second film Nga has produced for director Ira Sachs. The first, Forty Shades of Blue, won the 2005 Sundance Film Festival’s Dramatic Grand Jury prize.

Tiny Dancer Films is currently developing Justin Haythe's (Revolutionary Road) adaptation of Michael Ignatieff's novel Charlie Johnson In The Flames, and Into The Great Wide Open, which director Matthew Galkin has adapted from Kevin Canty's novel.

Nga was raised in Tripoli, Libya and London. He graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1996.

JOHN DE BORMAN (Director of Photography) has worked with some of the leading talents in the film and television industry. He was nominated for a BAFTA TV award for his work on Bharat Nalluri’s 2006 Golden Globe nominated miniseries “Tsunami: The Aftermath.” In 2000, he won the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best

18

Technical/Artistic Achievement for his body of work, particularly that year’s feature film Hideous Kinky, directed by Gillies MacKinnon.

De Borman recently shot Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. Other recent feature film credits include Oliver Parker’s Fade to Black; Tara Road, Pure and Trojan Eddie, all for Gillies MacKinnon; director Nigel Cole’s A Lot Like Love and Saving Grace; director Peter Chelsom’s Shall We Dance, Serendipity and The Mighty; Tommy O’Haver’s Ella Enchanted; Daisy Von Scherler Mayer’s The Guru; and Peter Cattaneo’s international hit The Full Monty.

In 2001, De Borman was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography for Matthew Almereyda’s Hamlet.

ROBIN SALES (Editor) has edited an eclectic mix of historical drama and modern fable, including most notably Chris Noonan’s Miss Potter, Niall Johnson’s Keeping Mum, Gaby Dellal’s On a Clear Day, Peter Howitt’s Johnny English, Mike Leigh's Topsy Turvy and Career Girls, Po Chih Leong’s The Wisdom of Crocodiles and John Madden’s Mrs Brown. After considerable television editing experience through the 1980’s and early ‘90s, including “A Year in Provence” and many of the Richard Sharpe dramas, Sales made his film-editing debut with Swann, in 1996.

JON HENSON (Production Designer) recently lent his considerable talents to Brothers of the Head for directors Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton, produced by Simon Channing Williams; Amy Heckerling’s I Could Never be Your Woman, starring Michelle Pfeifer; Rachel Tallalay’s Wind In The Willows and John Crowley’s Boy A, starring Peter Mullan.

Henson originally trained and worked as an actor in the 1980’s but went on to study Theatre Design at Wimbledon School of Art. After leaving college he co-founded Art Effects, a design company specializing in design for television dramas and commercials. After nine years, he left the company to work independently.

In 1999, Henson designed his first feature, Beautiful People, directed by Jasmin Disdar. Since then he has worked on both film and television projects including Esther Kahn, for French director Arnaud Desplechin and starring Summer Phoenix and Ian Holm; the award–winning television film “Kid In The Corner,” directed by Bille Eltringham; This Is Not A Love Song, again for Bille Eltringham; Never Never, directed by Julian Jarold; Gillies McKinnon’s Pure, starring Keira Knightley; and Mark Brozel’s “Macbeth,” for which Henson won an RTS Award for Best Production Design.

NATALIE WARD (Costume Designer) most recently completed Mark Herman’s The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, due for release in 2008. Before that she worked on Roger Michell's Venus, starring Peter O'Toole and Leslie Phillips. Ward also designed costumes for the Michell’s Enduring Love and The Mother.

Ward’s feature credits include Frank Oz's Death at a Funeral; Anthony Minghella’s Breaking and Entering; Mikael Håfström's 1408, starring John Cusack and Samuel L Jackson; Derailed, starring Clive Owen and Jennifer Anniston; and Michael Winterbottom's films Code 46, 24-Hour Party People and Wonderland.

Ward also designed costumes for Patrice Chéreau's Intimacy and Damien O'Donnell's Heartlands. She worked in the wardrobe departments of Bridget Jones's Diary, The Beach, Notting Hill, Elizabeth and I Want You.

19