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“Inherent Vice” Production Notes
An adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s funniest novel, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Read more at
in70mm.com
The 70mm Newsletter
Written by: Warner Brothers press Date: 21.06.2015

Inherent Vice: A hidden defect in a good or property which causes or contributes to its deterioration, damage, or wastage. These defects of an inherent nature make the item an unacceptable risk to a carrier or insurer. Examples of inherent vice include spontaneous combustion, rust, etc.
 

 

Synopsis

 
Poster for the film "Inherent Vice". Click the image to see enlargement

“Inherent Vice,” an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s seventh and funniest novel, is the seventh film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson—and the very first film adaptation ever of Pynchon’s legendarily inventive, culturally kaleidoscopic work. A surf noir, the story dives headlong into the smoky haze and neon afterglow of the American counterculture via a psychedelic spin on the classic detective yarn.

When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a loony bin…well, easy for her to say. It’s the tail end of the psychedelic `60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused—except this one usually leads to trouble. With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists...it’s part California noir, part hallucinogenic romp, and an all-out cinematic homage to a Pynchonian world of far-out characters, dead-on insights and deep yearning.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with IAC Films, a JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company production, “Inherent Vice.” The film stars Oscar nominees Joaquin Phoenix ("The Master", “Walk the Line”), Josh Brolin (“Milk”) and Owen Wilson (writer, “The Royal Tenenbaums”); Katherine Waterston (“Michael Clayton,” “Boardwalk Empire”); Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”) and Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic”); Martin Short (“Frankenweenie”); Jena Malone (“The Hunger Games” series); and musician Joanna Newsom. Five-time Oscar nominee Paul Thomas Anderson (“There Will Be Blood,” “Magnolia,” “Boogie Nights”) wrote and directed, based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon. Anderson also produced the film, together with Oscar nominees JoAnne Sellar and Daniel Lupi (“There Will Be Blood”). Scott Rudin and Adam Somner served as executive producers.

Anderson’s behind-the-scenes creative team included Oscar-winning director of photography Robert Elswit (“There Will Be Blood”), production designer David Crank (“The Master”), Oscar-nominated editor Leslie Jones (“The Thin Red Line”), and Oscar-winning costume designer Mark Bridges (“The Artist”). The music is by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood.
 
More in 70mm reading:

"Inherent Vice" is released in 70mm

"Inherent Vice" Red Carpet 70mm Premiere in Paris

P T Anderson's "The Master" in System 65

11. Todd-AO 70mm-Festival 2015

Internet link:

inherentvicemovie.net


amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

 

A Note On The Times

 
Kinoton non-rewind system with "Inherent Vice" 70mm print.

The comedy-tinged mysteries investigated by “gum-sandal” California detective Doc Sportello in Inherent Vice take him into the realm of the nefarious Golden Fang—which is both a schooner headed for San Pedro and a boundless, interconnected organization which has its teeth in the international heroin trade, the rehab business and apparently dentistry, among other things. But equally so, they also plunge him into the dark gap between the 1960s and `70s, between an idealistic vision of America and the modern consumer sprawl with which we are all so familiar. As Doc chases femme fatales through the intertwining questions of what happened to corrupt land developer Mickey Wolfmann, what happened to surf-rock saxophonist Coy Harlingen, and how his former client Crocker Fenway is connected to the Golden Fang, he ultimately solves them all. But at the core of his being, he is perhaps not so much trying to figure out “whodunnit?” as “what the hell happened?” “There’s a sadness underneath Doc’s investigations,” says Paul Thomas Anderson, “a feeling that the promise that people felt in those times was being ripped off. And that’s been a persistent theme of Pynchon’s work since the beginning. As I made the film, I was trying to be a surrogate for Pynchon’s concern for the American fate.”

The epigraph of Pynchon’s novel was drawn from a famed splash of radical graffiti scrawled during the May 1968 protests in Paris: “Sous les pavés, la plage!” (“Under the pavement, the beach!”) Indeed, Doc Sportello’s mythical beach home of Gordita Beach, with all its longing and joys, seems to be increasingly colliding with forces as unyielding as concrete. That was a reality in 1970, as many watched the back-to-nature California dream gradually being overtaken by land developers. At the same time, the fun-loving, homegrown dope scene was giving way to bureaucratic heroin cartels with global reach; the mental institutions were being emptied in favor of for-profit “recovery” centers; and an era of spirited political activism was being routed out by covert networks of spying, infiltration and dirty tricks. Even on television, cop shows were out-gunning comedies. A generation watched in dismay as peace, love and understanding squirmed beneath the weight of greed, surveillance and darkness.
Pynchon refers to the `60s as “this little parentheses of light” and the film, like Doc himself, is entranced by that light, but the story also takes place just beyond the closing bracket of those parentheses, in a time of upheaval and dislocation.

• In 1967, Ronald Reagan, former SAG president and anti-Commie crusader, began an eight-year reign as California’s governor. That same year, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act made institutionalization of the mentally ill vastly more difficult, doubling the number of mentally ill in the justice system within a year.

• In 1968, Richard Nixon was elected in the wake of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and a season of police-protestor confrontations, presaging the Watergate era of wiretaps and secret-keeping.

• In 1969, Charles Manson’s cultists committed the gruesome murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others in a brutal killing spree north of Beverly Hills.

• Also in 1969, a free rock concert given at California’s Altamont Speedway resulted in the death of a teenager beaten by Hells Angels hired to provide security.

• In April 1970, President Nixon sends U.S. troops to Cambodia. A civil war began in Cambodia between Communist and non-Communist forces.

• In May 1970, unarmed students protesting U.S. involvement in Cambodia were shot by police at Kent State University, with four dead and nine wounded.

• In 1972, Alfred W. McCoy published The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia, in which he presented evidence of CIA complicity in the Southeast Asian opium and heroin trade, controlling at least 70 percent of the worldwide market.

Pynchon writes in the novel of Doc seeing signs of this change everywhere he goes in Los Angeles. His paranoia might be heightened by his dope-smoking, but he is also detecting omens. He asks: “Was it possible, that at every gathering—concert, peace rally, love-in, be-in, and freak-in, here, up north, back east, wherever—those dark crews had been busy all along, reclaiming the music, the resistance to power, the sexual desire from epic to everyday, all they could sweep up, for the ancient forces of greed and fear?” Amid all the jokes and sexy lightness of “Inherent Vice,” Anderson too raises that question of how those ancient forces—so palpable at the brink of the `70s—have become the commonplace signposts of our own times. Through Doc’s quest to right the wrongs in his immediate vicinity he also poses a very timely question: whether we still believe, decades later, in at least the attempt at transcendence?

“Do we still have that sense of a lost American promise that can be reclaimed?” Anderson wonders. “I hope so.”
 
 

On Gordita Beach

 
Serena Scott Thomas in the film "Inherent Vice" by Paul Thomas Anderson. Image by Warner Brothers

Since the 1960s, Thomas Pynchon has been celebrated as the one resonant American literary voice that tapped directly into the multifaceted, recombined chaos of modern life. Starting with his classic novels V., The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity’s Rainbow, he plunged readers into vastly intricate parallel universes that mirrored the beauty, perversity, technological audacity, political futility, comic absurdity and unyielding complexity of the post World War II era. His work refused summary. It was historical and scientific…yet dream-like and lined with hidden meanings. It was dead serious…yet it unspooled in madcap spirals of comedy. The crime writer Ian Rankin once succinctly called Pynchon a purveyor of literature “as an extended code or grail quest. Moreover, he was like a drug: as you worked out one layer of meaning, you quickly wanted to move to the next.” Indeed, Pynchon’s work was so wild, so reputedly untamable, that a deep irony emerged: here was a novelist who profusely quoted from movie history throughout his writing, who was profoundly influenced by the temporal flow of cinema, yet no movie had ever been made from his work. It even became, perhaps, another layer in Pynchon’s mystique. Like all of Pynchon’s work, Inherent Vice forged its own world. But this one was a sui generis Los Angeles possessed of the spirit of sex, drugs and rock and roll. He honed in on the essence of 1970 as a kind of tipping point, that moment when the chilled, misfit tribes of the coast—hippies, freaks, surfers, bikers, dopers, mystics, rockers—suddenly found themselves in collision with the global cartels, sprawling consumerism, faux spirituality, bulldozed neighborhoods and political and personal paranoia that would soon become part of the everyday American fabric.

In the midst of this world, Pynchon placed beach-dwelling, pot-smoking L.A. private eye Doc Sportello, who finds himself making the last stand of a certain dazed breed of American dreamer tilting at the forces of greed, fear and disintegration just before the Age of Aquarius became myth. Pynchon playfully merged the cultures of gumshoe and hippie, with Doc Sportello delivering the shamus’s snappy dialogue through a weed-induced mellow, then merged that with his long-lived concerns with the invisible forces within American society and the idea of American destiny. Most of all, he lit up the book with so many zingy lines, characters, jokes and music that Rolling Stone called it a “majestic summary of everything that makes [Pynchon] a uniquely huge American voice. It has the moral fury that’s fueled his work from the start—his ferociously batshit compassion for America and the lost tribes who wander through it.” But could Pynchon’s verbal electricity and polychromatic way of seeing the world finally be translated for the first time to the screen? Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, who has carved out his own tradition of vividly cinematic stories of dreamers and seekers, decided to take a crack. He began writing while he was still at work on "The Master", and it was a process. Initially, he adapted the entire novel sentence-by-sentence so that he could work with the whole slew of characters, plot twists and lines of dialogue in their entirety.

At the same time, he was thinking about how to visually capture the more purely visceral experience of taking in a Pynchon novel. “My best experiences reading his books have been when I allow them to wash over me—when you don't expect anything, don't know anything…just surrender and ride along the waves he creates,” comments Anderson. “You can't summarize it and sometimes it's just out of reach to define what it is but you feel it.” Most of all, Anderson wanted to do justice not only to the full labyrinth of crime and corruption that Doc Sportello falls into but to evoke the roots of Pynchon’s fascination with the `60s. “Pynchon’s plot mechanics are complicated, sure, but beneath it all is something simple,” he concludes. “It's looking at the past and hoping things can get better tomorrow. What could be simpler than that? Isn't it what we all want?” “The one idea I came up with was to utilize a supporting character, Sortilège, and employ her as the narrator,” explains Anderson. “She helps us follow the story, and we can squeeze in some jokes and some nice Pynchon passages through this device, hopefully, without cheating too much.” Like the book, the filmmaking would delve into the state of paranoia itself—whether drug-induced or life-induced—in all its mix of comedy, insight and danger. Says Anderson of Pynchon’s fascination with paranoia on both an individual and societal level, “Pynchon himself said it best in Gravity’s Rainbow, ‘Paranoids are not paranoid because they’re paranoid but because they keep putting themselves, fucking idiots, into paranoid situations.’” He adds, “Paranoia is also very, very fun to film—people and noises and creeping around corners—it’s all very cinematic. And Joaquin does paranoid very well.” Anderson first began talking with Joaquin Phoenix about taking the role of Doc Sportello after shooting “The Master.” “Joaquin and I tried to dig into the book as deeply as we could; everything, all the time, came back to the book,” says Anderson. “It would make us laugh and constantly kept delivering new material. It’s so dense that there was no chance you could retain it all, but we tried.” Sporting fluffy muttonchops and various shaggy stages of a ‘fro, Phoenix was modeled to some degree after a 1970s-era Neil Young. It’s a look contrasted by the knife-edged crew-cut of his chief law enforcement rival: the badass, civil rights-violating LAPD officer and sensitive “Adam-12” extra Bigfoot Bjornsen, a role explored by Josh Brolin in both its comedic and human aspects. “Bigfoot’s an asshole, but Josh figured a way to make it funny and a little sad,” says Anderson. “There’s a nice line from the book that describes Bigfoot as ‘possessed with melancholy.’ But he’s also a dickhead.”
 
 
Martin Short (left) and director Paul Thomas Anderson in the film "Inherent Vice". Image by Warner Brothers

The instigator of Doc’s quest—his sensuous ex-flame Shasta, who arrives back in his life out of the blue, “looking just like she swore she’d never look”—is portrayed by Katherine Waterston in her first major screen role. “She’s gorgeous and talented, what more could you hope for?” says Anderson of Waterston. “It was also nice to work with someone who’s a new face to audiences, who hasn’t got a lot of screen mileage, which helps keep her mysterious.” As Doc investigates Shasta’s disappearance, he wanders through a prismatic maze of characters from backgrounds high and low. They include Martin Short as the nefarious Dr. Blatnoyd, Owen Wilson as regretful undercover snitch Coy Harlingen, Jena Malone as reformed doper Hope Harlingen, Benicio Del Toro as maritime lawyer Sauncho Smilax, Reese Witherspoon as alluringly straight Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball, Eric Roberts as real estate developer Mickey Wolfmann, Michael Kenneth Williams as ex-con activist Tariq Khalil, Martin Donovan as lawyer Crocker Fenway, Sasha Pieterse as troublesome Japonica Fenway, Hong Chau as Chick Planet’s Jade, Jordan Christian Hearn as Doc’s burnout cohort Denis, and Jeannie Berlin as Doc’s Aunt Reet. “It was a dream scenario,” comments Anderson. “Great parts, big and small. Thankfully, schedules worked out and this dream team of players was available. All of them, from Jena to Benicio, are people I’ve been so anxious to work with over the years, and here was a chance. Even more thrilling was finding new young actors like Hong Chau or Jordan Christian Hearn, or working with greats like Jeannie Berlin, Eric Roberts and Martin Short.” Then there is Gordita Beach itself, a mythological coastal city Pynchon first wrote about in his 1990 novel Vineland, which might or might not be modeled after that once freewheeling, if petrochemical-laden, surf town that is now upscale Manhattan Beach. The chance to create Pynchon’s alternate seaside universe was exhilarating. “I’m from California, I’m from Los Angeles, I was born in 1970, so there was a straight flush of reasons to be interested in this era,” says Anderson. “And then you add to that good music, cars and girls…”

But this is also a different view of Los Angeles than seen in Anderson’s previous films— which have traversed the map from the late-`70s adult film world of “Boogie Nights,” to a contemporary realm of crises and miracles in “Magnolia,” to the unexpected site of amour fou in “Punch-Drunk Love,” to the emerging landscape of 20th century ambition in “There Will Be Blood.” Anderson says among his key influences for the film’s look was an underground comic strip, The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, created in 1968 by artist Gilbert Shelton, which featured the misadventures of the three notoriously ungainful, dope-seeking Freak Brothers in line drawings that had a playful, trippy warmth. He and his fellow filmmaking team, which includes Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit, production designer David Crank and costume designer Mark Bridges, then searched for the last vestiges of authentic surf culture and psychedelia in Southern California. “It’s getting harder and harder to find the past,” notes Anderson, “much harder than it was in 1997 when we made ‘Boogie Nights.’” An equally vital factor in powering the time machine that is “Inherent Vice” is the music, which features both an original score by Jonny Greenwood in his third collaboration with Anderson, following “There Will Be Blood” and “The Master,” and a soundtrack that sweeps through lesser-heard sounds of the 1970s, from the cult experimental band Can to Minnie Riperton to Neil Young himself. “There are too many great tunes to choose from for this era,” says Anderson. “I just had to audition stuff to see what fit. There are so many musical references in the book—we didn’t have enough film to support all of that. But we did use the classic ‘Here Comes the Ho-Dads’ [by The Marketts]. Talk about surf sax solos! Coy Harlingen would be proud.” Though redolent with rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia, “Inherent Vice” does not stay entirely parked in time. It cannot, for the characters are also trying to escape time, to escape time’s unavoidable, inherent vices. And they do so through the very same sex, drugs and music that defined the era. Doc’s investigation leads down all the outrageous and impenetrable detours of the era, from Ouija Boards to Nixon rallies, from minor revelations to a shot at redemption, only to deposit him back on Gordita Beach, in the thick of the fog, on the edge of the blue, watching the “sea of time, the sea of memory and forgetfulness.”
 
 

Who’s Who: The Characters

 
Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix)

Profile: Gordita Beach’s hippie P.I., whose near-constant altered state of consciousness either enhances his detecting abilities or complicates everything.

Phoenix on Inherent Vice: The whole film is designed to lure you into this journey and it’s kind of an experience unto itself. It was that way shooting it, too. Paul imperceptibly steers you in a way that you don’t even realize you’re being brought into another time and space. You’re just suddenly there.

On working with Anderson: It’s a dream experience. It’s a completely immersive thing, and everyone in the cast and crew is there to immerse themselves in it. It’s sort of a mystery to me how he even does it, because his sets don’t really feel like sets. You don’t even feel like you’re making a movie, you just feel like you’re inside this world he’s created. It’s so easy to be inspired when you work with someone like that.

On letting the role happen: I don’t try to tightly control a performance the way I used to do and, really, there’s no way to come at someone like Doc with rigid ideas, with any kind of fixed certainty. When you work with someone like Paul, who isn’t afraid of the unpredictable, who is open to discoveries, you have that kind of room. And that’s when you find something that feels like it’s in a state of real flux, that feels like it’s alive. That’s always what I’m after.


Shasta Fay Hepworth (Katherine Waterston)

Profile: Doc’s ex-old lady, a formerly free-spirited beach girl who suddenly reappears, luring him into a case that keeps expanding exponentially.

Waterston on Shasta: Shasta returns to Gordita Beach after having left to pursue the Hollywood dream. The pursuit doesn’t go as she expected it would; instead of finding the success she had hoped for, she finds herself involved in a situation that could shape up to be much more nightmarish than dreamy. So she comes back to Doc, seeking his help. And, like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, she lures him down a rabbit hole and, subsequently, into all sorts of bizarre, absurd and dangerous situations.

On Shasta’s encounters with crime: I think Shasta was quite devastated by Hollywood, by the Manson murders, by the end of a decade that promised something it didn't deliver. I really connected with her, with her sorrow. It wasn’t difficult for me to understand how she got in over her head with Mickey Wolfmann—disappointment and fear are insidious, powerful emotions, they can disorient you and do a real number on your judgment.

On Doc’s feelings for Shasta: I suppose that’s a question for Doc! But I definitely prefer to believe he loves her. It’s only my opinion, I could be right or wrong, but I don’t think Pynchon would have given the character a name as gorgeous, romantic and musical as Shasta Fay Hepworth if he wanted us to think she was just some dime-a-dozen ex-girlfriend. When I first read the script and the novel, Doc’s love for Shasta felt like an omnipresent fact. Regardless of whatever he was saying or doing, his concern for her, it seemed to me, was always there, hanging in the air. I feel it when I watch the movie, I see it in Joaquin’s brilliant performance.

On the experience of the film: Paul and Joaquin ruined my life by giving me such a wonderful, dream-come-true experience! It was like being given a first class ticket after years in that middle seat that doesn’t recline, in the very last row of the plane, next to the bathroom. I didn’t want it to end. I remember I was nostalgic about it before it was even over! I just plain love the way they both work: fearlessly, collaboratively and with dogged determination. I expected to be intimidated by Joaquin and Paul because they’re both freaky super geniuses, but because they are both so unassuming and generous, the panic never set in. I was blown away by how included and welcome they made me feel.


Mickey Wolfmann (Eric Roberts)

Profile: Shasta’s missing boyfriend, a billionaire land-developer who has been turning L.A.’s traditional neighborhoods into luxury real estate…until he drops off the map.

Pynchon describes Mickey: “Mickey could have taught all you swingin’ beach bums a thing or two. He was just so powerful. Sometimes he could make you feel almost invisible. Fast, brutal, not what you’d call a considerate lover, an animal, actually, but Sloane adored that about him, and Luz—you could tell, we all did. It’s so nice to be made to feel invisible that way sometimes...”
 
 
Lt. Det. Christian F. “Bigfoot” Bjornsen (Josh Brolin)

Profile: Frozen banana-chomping LAPD detective, self-described “renaissance cop” and part-time actor who has a love-hate relationship with Doc.

Brolin on Bigfoot: There are so many things going on with Bigfoot—and I like when characters are in major conflict with themselves. I saw him as this guy who is kind of stuck in a gray flannel `50s world, a guy who would have wanted to be a “Right Stuff” kind of guy if things had worked that way. But there are all these dichotomous things going on with him. When you see him with his wife, he’s just getting screamed at like a child. So he presents himself one way, but what’s really going on is something else. He also says he hates hippies but he mostly hangs around hippies—and his greatest partner is a hippie.

On Bigfoot and Doc: It’s truly a love-hate thing with these two. Obviously they’re using each other to get what they each want, but there’s also more going on I think. I mean Bigfoot gets off on talking the way he can only talk with Doc. And I suspect Doc gets off on it, too.

On Bigfoot’s hair: Literally 15 minutes before my first scene we decided on the flat top. There were a couple of other ideas, but once we tried it, that became the way to go.

On the rapport with Joaquin and Benicio: There's a great dynamic that happens once in a while with actors, when you don't know what they're going to bring, and that happened here. It was fluid in a Pynchon kind of sense. Maybe it was more like Jell-O. I also think Joaquin is one of the greatest actors we have, so to be able to work with somebody like that and just take that roller coaster is great.

On the story: I see it as a kind of labyrinth where you understand more and more as you go along. You can watch it many times and get something new each time. Films like this aren’t made very often anymore, so when you finish a film like this, you just feel honored to have been a part of it.


Sauncho smilax, esq. (Benicio Del Toro)

Profile: Doc’s frequently consulted attorney, who actually practices maritime law, which ultimately comes in handy.

Del Toro on Sauncho: He’s a maritime lawyer. He’s on the right side of things, but he’s outside his element. He always has an angle, whether it’s money from his client or getting his hands on the Golden Fang sailboat. He and Doc have what appears to be a professional relationship but I think deep down Sauncho really cares for him. Maybe he even looks up to him or perhaps they share the same taste buds.

On adapting Pynchon: What’s interesting to me is that the book is already kind of written like a movie, where Pynchon will cut together a conversation with two characters in one time and place then you’re with those same two characters in another time and place. When I read the book and then the script, I knew it was going to be a really funky and original take on politics and the period.

On the period: Everything was big. Cars were big. Phones were big. Hair was big. Music was big. Unlike now, where everything is molecule-sized, floating in the air.
 
 
"Inherent Vice" advertised as "in 70mm" at the Cinerama Dome / Arclight cinema in Hollywood.

Penny Kimball (Reese Witherspoon)


Profile: Deputy Los Angeles D.A.—and Doc’s occasional “flatlander” fling.

Pynchon describes Penny: Presently in strolled Penny, one hand loosely in a jacket pocket, exchanging civilized remarks with any number of perfectly groomed co-workers. She was wearing shades and one of those gray polyester business outfits with a very short skirt.
On reuniting with Phoenix: “I was excited to work with him again in these two very different roles. Joaquin always transforms himself in such an authentic way, and there’s something both hilarious and moving about Doc—which Penny seems to see in him, despite their obvious differences.”
On Anderson’s directing style: “It’s a one-of-a-kind experience. He’s so tuned into this world and he’s got such a great sense of humor. He keeps things feeling very alive, yet relaxed and open, which is a pleasure for actors.”


Hope Harlingen (Jena Malone)

Profile: Ex-doper who hires Doc to find out what happened to her supposedly dead husband, Coy.

Malone on Hope: Paul and I started with Pynchon’s words, and that really helped to hone in on what we wanted to highlight. We talked a lot about the words—but as soon as I was sitting at the table with Doc, it was a matter of letting everything go. I do think Hope in her own way kind of represents the hope for love, something that truly seemed lost.

On Hope’s teeth: It’s the late `60s becoming the `70s, Nixon’s in office and everything is sort of losing its veneer and gloss—just like Hope’s teeth.

On pairing Paul Thomas Anderson with Pynchon: Paul’s such an interesting American filmmaker. In a time when people are so innovative with technology, he's an innovator of the human heart. Putting him together with Pynchon, who is this sort of poetic, countercultural voice of American myth…I just thought it was one of the best pairings of a filmmaker and author I had ever heard of.

On playing opposite Joaquin: What was most fascinating to me about watching Joaquin take on this role is that he's so smart, yet he’s got this massive, gentle heart—and he brought all of that to the role of Doc, which is all haze, mist and paranoia. It was thrilling to watch.

Coy Harlingen (Owen Wilson)


Profile: Undercover sax player who, for unknown but suspect reasons, faked his own death and is now hiding out with a band in Topanga Canyon.

Wilson on Coy: Coy is a person who has fallen onto hard times, he's become sort of addicted, and he finally decides the best way to help his wife and their child is to become an informant. But he’s also the guy who tries to help Doc fully understand what is going on with the Golden Fang--except Coy is not ever really able to shed too much light on it, so their encounters have this sort of mysterious quality. They’re fringed with paranoia. But I think Coy sort of likes that feeling of paranoia, he’s gotten so into it.

On The Golden Fang: It’s this sort of ominous syndicate pulling the strings behind all the mysteries Doc is investigating. Paul says metaphorically it’s sort of a catchall for everybody's paranoia. It’s anything and everything that could be bad or go wrong. I guess Golden Fang is like Murphy’s Law in a way.

On Joaquin disappearing into the role: I wasn't really even thinking that it's Joaquin. I was thinking this is Doc. He really looked so different, he was just this burnout PI and when we were doing scenes together it was just very, very natural and easy.

On the way Anderson shoots: He does a lot of one-shots, and it feels very real. It’s actually more like a real conversation and the way you work it becomes a little bit more like sports, where you’re hitting the ball back and forth with the other actors. I get more adrenaline when it feels like that.

On why Doc wants to save Coy: You know, I think Doc might be exasperated by all these people but he also kind of cares about them. Coy and Hope really shouldn’t have been parents, but now they are, and there is this love between them and I think Doc sees that and he wants to help.
 
 
"Inherent Vice" advertised as "in 70mm" at the Arclight cinema in Hollywood.

Jade (Hong Chau)


Profile: Manager of Chick Planet, the “massage parlor” where Doc finds the plot thickening.

Hong on Jade: Pynchon has really great descriptions of all of his characters, and I think my favorite one for Jade is that she's a small, perfect Asian dewdrop. I thought of Jade as a kind of little genie who floats around Los Angeles and just pops up at random times, and it's usually to help Doc.

On Doc and Jade: I like Doc and Jade's relationship because they're just two strangers who meet and kind of immediately decide that they're going to help each other without the attitude of “what's in it for me.” That contrasts with a lot of the other characters that Doc encounters through the story.

On Joaquin: A lot of people think he’s this weird guy, and it makes me feel protective of him. He’s funny and sweet; I wish people knew that. He’s not an actor where you say, “Oh, he's just playing himself again in this role!” He loves his work and it really means something to him and you can tell that.

On the period: Everything—the hair, the wardrobe, the props—was vintage and so authentic. Paul is not only very detail-oriented, he also sees everything. I remember there was one day where he stopped a scene because he saw on the monitor that one of the extras was holding a transistor radio and poking it like it was an iPad. How did he even see that? But he notices so much and it’s important to creating a film like this.


Tariq Khalil (Michael Kenneth Williams)


Profile: Ex-con and Black Guerilla Family member who asks Doc to track down a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, who also happens to be Mickey Wolfmann’s bodyguard.

Williams on his first time working with Anderson: The process on this film was a very different one for me. Most of my work has been in television where they crack the whip and everything is just about time, time, time. And then I get to this situation and Paul starts with “let's sit down and talk about this.” So I knew I was safe and in good hands.

Williams on Phoenix: I came into the project as a huge fan and, honestly, I was very intimidated to be invited to this table to play with such an amazing and immense talent. So I came with a lot of nervous energy—but then Joaquin was just so generous with me.

 
 
"Inherent Vice" advertised as "in 70mm" for the French premiere.

Crocker Fenway (Martin Donovan)


Profile: AKA The Dark Prince of Palos Verdes, a well-connected lawyer and ex-client of Doc’s who also happens to represent the Golden Fang.

Pynchon writing Crocker Fenway: “We’re in place. We’ve been in place forever. Look around. Real estate, water rights, oil, cheap labor—all of that’s ours, it’s always been ours. And you, at the end of the day what are you? One more unit in this swarm of transients who come and go without pause here in the sunny Southland, eager to be bought off with a car of a certain make, model, and year, a blonde in a bikini, thirty seconds on some excuse for a wave - a chili dog, for Christ’s sake.” He shrugged. “We will never run out of you people. The supply is inexhaustible.”
 
 
Japonica Fenway (Sasha Pieterse)

Profile: Crocker Fenway’s wayward daughter, who Doc once rescued from an unspecified hippie horror.

Pieterse on Japonica: She’s lost but yet she does know what she wants. She has felt repressed by her father and it’s natural for a person her age to want to get as far as possible away from that. She’s looking for freedom, even though being with Rudy Blatnoyd is just a façade. What’s most interesting to me about Japonica is that she is feeling this transitional time in her own way, different from Doc or any other character.

On Crocker Fenway: He is the dark lord of Palos Verdes. He’s this twisted, powerful lawyer who pretends to be one person. He’s actually the opposite and he’s involved with a lot of terrible stuff.

On the scene in Dr. Blatnoyd’s office: It was so much fun. We were in this very 1960s-decorated room with this incredible carpet and in walks Martin Short in his purple velvet suit. It was perfect.

On Doc: He’s the best PI ever. He’s very chill. It might be because of substances that he’s on but I feel like he’d still kind of be that same person even if he wasn’t on everything. I find it very believable the way he finds all these clues by accident, running into different people who help him in different ways. I love that he doesn’t look like someone who could have any authority—that makes it really comical. I think the thing about Doc is that it all boils down to him really caring about people. He’s not just following this trail for one reason. There are a lot of purposes in this case.


Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd, D.D.S. (Martin Short)

Profile: A powder-loving dentist embroiled in the mysterious Golden Fang empire.

Short on Blatnoyd: Paul described him as this kind of lunatic who is a dentist who likes young women and cocaine—so it was typecasting. I suppose he’s someone who went to dentistry school but now it’s all about free love, free drugs, breaking the law and taking advantage of the system while being condescending towards hippies, unless they are young and willing…

On the adaptation: I thought the script was amazingly loyal to Thomas Pynchon. And at times Paul would even have the book on the set with him and he’d look at the scene in there and say, “Let's try this line.” I loved how my character is so authentic to the book, even in the way he's dressed. I never got the impression that Paul was trying to reinvent what Pynchon had written.

On Dr. Blatnoyd’s relationship with Doc: I think he’s a bit paranoid about him at first but then he realizes he’s just a dirty hippie who wants drugs, and they form that bond. That bond of hippie drugs.

On The Golden Fang: For Rudy, I think Golden Fang is just an opportunity to get what he wants. It’s a permission slip to let him be the biggest hedonist imaginable, which, let's face it, Rudy is.

On working with Anderson: He’s very open and experimental and it lets you get into that place where you're in a very relaxed state. It allows you to keep the modern world away and flow into 1970...


Sortilège (Joanna Newsom)

Profile: Doc’s former employee whose unusual gifts lie in seeing invisible forces, solving emotional puzzles, and comprehending love; she serves as the film’s narrator.

Newsom on Sortilège: Paul really expanded her character from the book to become the narrator. And he also conferred on her this sort of all-seeing vision—she’s a bit of a mystic. She can see inside other people’s inner lives and see the bigger picture from a distance. She’s a kind of oracle but she doesn’t really interfere with the characters. She just observes and maybe gives little hints. Pynchon’s descriptive passages are so beautiful—it’s great to be able to hear some of that language in the film.

On Doc’s moral grounding: Doc kind of stumbles into doing the right thing at any given moment. He has a code, but it’s not rigid. In my view, though, he’s like this questing knight. I see the whole story as an epic battle between the Age of Aquarius and this sort of dark corruption that’s sneaking in with hard drugs and Charlie Manson and this sense of impending doom. Within that, Doc is a crusader for good.

On Joaquin: He has this sort of magical, alchemical quality of making you completely believe in his character. When we had our first scene, I believed 100 percent that he was speaking to Sortilège, and that was the most helpful thing I could have ever imagined because he was so present.
On the Ouija Board sequence: It’s one of the moments in the story when there’s a profound sense of magical realism. It’s unlikely that a Ouija board would guide a person to a doper’s hotline. It’s unlikely, but not impossible. So you have reality shifting into a sort of magic, but what I love is that Paul has this magical scene play out in a very sort of gritty, real way.
 
 

The Los Angeles of “Inherent Vice"

 
The circa 1970 Greater Los Angeles of Inherent Vice is a land of contradicting moods: sprawling yet claustrophobic, sun-lit yet disorienting. As Doc pursues his investigations, he moves from his natural habitat of beachside surf shacks across the So Cal map to LAPD’s Parker Center, Topanga mansions, seedy massage parlors, dust-swept construction sites, coastal diners, fanciful rehab centers and the sleek headquarters of the omnipresent Golden Fang. Similarly, he encounters people from every subculture and slice of society– from stoners, political militants and cops to dentists, lawyers and real estate fat cats. While this fluidity lends itself to the literary page, the question for Paul Thomas Anderson was how Pynchon’s writing could become a textured, trancelike cinematic experience. The film needed to forge its own inviting world, one that beckons the audience into Doc’s need to probe the mysteries of Shasta, Mickey Wolfmann and the Golden Fang. But Anderson also wanted that world to feel natural and lived-in, as well as casually comical, without being overtly stylized. He did so in collaboration with a close-knit team who have worked together on many of his movies: cinematographer Robert Elswit, an Oscar winner for “There Will Be Blood,” who shot “Inherent Vice” on 35mm film in keeping with both the `70s aesthetic and the dream-like nature of Doc’s reality; production designer David Crank; costume designer Mark Bridges; and editor Leslie Jones.

Crank, who was art director on “There Will Be Blood” and co-production designer on "The Master" with Jack Fisk, says it all started with extended road trips around Los Angeles, through the tangle of freeways and canyon roads, looking for the lost traces of 1970 and the environs Doc would have experienced. “There was a rather long scouting period,” Crank notes. “We visited and re-visited places and it’s a very intuitive process with Paul, where he tries to react in the moment to the places and how they match with the mood in his mind.” While Pynchon’s language was always an under-the-surface influence, Crank explains that it became fused with Anderson’s way of seeing. “What I loved about the script is that I think Paul really encapsulated Pynchon in a way that makes him accessible to a movie audience. He distilled that spirit without getting too mired in the details, which could have been a temptation,” he observes. “So, though we referred to the book and sometimes looked back to see what Pynchon wrote, we tried to never be enslaved by it. If you’re too literal about a work of literature, it doesn’t usually work. And what Paul always likes to do is to simplify and strip back until you have just the right kind of shell in which the actors can do their work.” Crank observes that Anderson has become increasingly attuned to a flexible, unrestricted naturalism over his last several films. “He’s become more and more interested in the organic,” says the production designer, “and I can see why that approach is so exciting to him. In my job, that meant working with him location by location. We kept in mind all the different thematic elements of the film, but the idea was never to get stuck on them.”
 
The phase shift between the `60s and `70s fascinated Crank. “It’s a weird period in every way,” he muses. “It’s really after the Flower Power moment, but it’s before the real `70s style kicked in. It’s a true transitional era. So that was exciting but there was also a danger of making the design just a collection of bizarre things. That was half the battle: finding elements that reflect that time but didn’t really stand out or distract. The idea was to never leave you thinking, ‘Oh, this is a period film.’ We wanted more of a worn look, a look of people living in this world and the objects in a room are just there because they wound up there. We didn’t want sets that look art-directed. We didn’t talk about where things should feel noir and where they should be more in the hippie realm. It’s all part of this same world.” For Doc’s Gordita Beach apartment, Crank first scoured Manhattan Beach for leftover `60s-era shacks. He found precisely what he was looking for but shooting there proved impossible, so he recreated the house as a set. “It was a house that belonged to a woman who was a real free spirit—and I think Paul was captivated by the feeling in that house, so we tried to re-create that.”

Doc’s unexpected office was also built as a set. “Every time we tried to go too crazy with his office Paul and I felt it was too much,” he recalls. “So we went very simple and there’s something about that bare cinder block room that really seems to suit all the things Doc does in there.” By contrast, Mickey Wolfmann’s mansion was a plush, vintage mid-Century classic. “We looked at a ton of mansions, but this one stood out because it really hadn’t been touched,” Crank says. “It still had those beautiful stone walls that barely need any decoration and it didn’t take much to put it right into that period. It seemed to have all the best things of `60s design. Then later, we built the cavernous tie closet as a separate set.” Crank also had the task of recreating the interiors of Los Angeles’ once-storied Parker Center. Originally designed by architect Welton Becket—who also designed the iconic Capitol Records building and Cinerama Dome in Hollywood—the eight-story, rectangular complex built in the modernist International Style served as LAPD’s downtown headquarters from 1954 to 2009, and was frequently seen in police dramas of the `50s, `60s and `70s. In 2009, the LAPD moved to new digs when Parker Center was deemed seismically dangerous. Though still standing, the building is now closed to the public. “We actually recreated Parker Center in a homeless mission on Skid Row downtown,” Crank explains. “We found this great library that had just that kind of long row of windows and we re-dressed it and it really felt right.”
 
 
Meanwhile, the less visible machinations of the Golden Fang were forged within Ambassador College in Pasadena. “It’s a building with great proportions,” says Crank, “and we were able to use a lot of the original furniture for Dr. Blatnoyd’s office, though we did re-cover the chairs in orange.” The film traversed more than 60 locations, from the Chowder Barge diner in San Pedro to a rambling Topanga estate belonging to a couple of artists to a lot in Lancaster that stood in for the Wild West feel of the Channel View Estates construction site. Bigfoot’s house belonged to an older gentleman in Baldwin Hills, while Adrian Prussia’s office/torture-chamber was unearthed in Compton. The posh club where Crocker Fenway meets Doc was created in the basement of the Los Angeles Theater, which was also used in “The Master.” “It was a very interesting project where we didn’t go into anything with a rigid plan but were constantly open to changes in the moment—and that really seemed to fit the story. It could easily have been a bit precious, but we felt it demanded more of a roughness and a real ‘go for it’ mentality,” Crank relates. “Throughout everything, Paul was always very open. He creates an atmosphere where anyone can approach him. There’s a sense of ownership for everyone on the crew and I think that brings out the best in people.

“The space Anderson leaves for creative anarchy to emerge is part of what makes collaborating with him so special,” concludes Crank. “What’s fun about him is you never know at the end of day where you’ll wind up—stuff just comes at you and he’s always pushing you to veer slightly left. It keeps you on your toes. I guess you could say with Paul you never know what it’s going to be, but you always know it’s going to be exciting and interesting.” That same unrestricted atmosphere also inspired the work of costume designer Mark Bridges, who previously worked with Anderson on “There Will Be Blood,” “Punch-Drunk Love,” “Magnolia,” “Boogie Nights” and “Hard Eight”—and also won an Oscar for the Silent Film Era costumes of “The Artist.” On every project he does, Bridges starts by looking for the most distinctive qualities of the characters—which in this case were rampant. “I started by reading the book, then the script, then making notes, then looking at a lot of images from the era in photos, films, paintings, illustrations, everything,” he recalls. “While looking at these images I was asking myself questions about the characters: Where would they shop? How would they present themselves to the world? How do they fit into the scheme of 1970? And, I was also starting to think about how this period might look fresh and interesting yet accessible to an audience today.” He continues: “I then made a book for Paul and we talked a lot about the right feeling and tone. So by the time each actor came in for a first fitting, Paul and I already had a few directions we could take a character. Then I worked directly with the actors, looking at how different things fit and trying to give them everything they needed to feel comfortable inhabiting their particular world and role. It was like putting a big puzzle together, piece by piece.” Pynchon’s imagery gave Bridges a rich jumping-off point. “Paul and I were immediately excited about several specific Pynchon descriptions: Dr. Blatnoyd’s suit, Coy’s disguise the first time we meet him and Jade’s cocktail waitress look, all in the book,” he explains.

Sometimes a single Pynchon phrase could get the wheels turning. “When you read a line like the one for Shasta—‘looking like she said she’d never look’—that’s where I go to work as a costume designer,” he muses. “What does that phrase mean for a girl that had previously lived on the beach in only a bikini and tee? What would she need to wear to fit into Mickey Wolfmann’s world, suddenly living in Hancock Park, going on auditions, maybe hanging out in Beverly Hills? I felt a crochet dress was the right choice to represent that phrase because it was a lot of things at once: tasteful yet sexy, mod yet classic and, to me, very 1970. It’s also so very different from that bikini bottom and tee worn during her life with Doc.” Like Anderson, Bridges saw Doc in the mold of a Neil Young iconoclast—scruffy, laid-back, a bit frayed and almost accidentally cool. “The influence of Neil Young on Doc’s look was something that ran through the entire thread of Joaquin’s costumes. Many times when I needed an idea for Doc I would look at Neil’s choices during that era and often find a unique period look that was great then and still looks great today,” he says. “And then there was Joaquin’s gold ‘disguise’ suit, a vintage suit that appealed to me because of its interesting color and cut, and was so very different from Doc’s day-to-day wardrobe.” Bridges utilized a mix of painstakingly sought-out vintage items and handmade garments specific to the characters. “Shasta’s crochet dress was an original dress from the period found in an antique mall—a lucky find since most crochet dresses from the period have not survived these last 45 years,” he elucidates. “I dyed it a bit to make the color stronger and more appealing yet still accurate for the period. We had to be very careful handling it, it was such a unique piece.” He continues, “Dr. Blatnoyd’s velvet suit was handmade based on a vintage prototype, and Sloane Wolfmann’s black bathing suit was inspired by period images of Rudi Gernrich and Frederick’s of Hollywood, then made in our costume shop, and customized in several fittings to get the engineering just right. Jade’s Asian dresses were purchased in Chinatown and altered into shapes evoking the period.”
 
 
Serena Scott Thomas in the film "Inherent Vice" by Paul Thomas Anderson. Image by Warner Brothers

With the film set on the very knife’s edge between the `60s and `70s, Bridges worked with a slightly more `70s palette, suggesting the imminent shift to an era of gold and glam. “Look at Doc’s gold suit, or the yellow dress of Japonica next to the plum of Dr. Blatnoyd, or the bronze suit and salmon shirt of Bigfoot. These colors speak of the era, and also hopefully help make the costumes fresh and memorable,” Bridges says. While Pynchon writes of Dr. Blatnoyd in an “ultraviolet” velvet suit, Bridges played with several shades of purple. “I had Rudy Blatnoyd’s suit made in two different colors of velvet, one a very strong blue/purple—what I consider Pynchon ‘ultraviolet’—and the other in a ‘groovy’ plum color. Paul and I looked at the two choices on Martin Short and decided in the moment on the groovy plum. I was very happy with how it worked in the wood paneled office and with Japonica’s yellow dress.” The straighter side of 1970 Los Angeles emerges in the more conservative, cultivated looks of Bigfoot, Penny and Crocker Fenway. Says Bridges, “Bigfoot, Penny and Crocker represent The Establishment, the complete opposite of the world Doc inhabits. The cultural divide at the end of the `60s was so great that during my research I even found an advertisement for The Establishment Wig, a wig to wear over your long hair when ‘short hair is a must!’” For Josh Brolin, Bridges looked back to the groomed detectives of a prior era. “Bigfoot’s basic look is about 10 years earlier than 1970,” the designer notes. “He’s wearing a more early `60s suit silhouette, but I amped up the period colors in his costumes as the story goes on, so you start seeing him in the salmon-colored shirt and then the bronze suit for his final scene in the film. That suit was actually inspired by Lee Marvin’s look in the 1967 film ‘Point Blank.’”

He saw Reese Witherspoon’s Penny as donning her lawyer clothing as a kind of shield. “I love to use contrasts to play up the idea that a character’s clothing isn’t always who they really are, just how they want the world to see them,” Bridges explains. “The first time we see Penny, she’s in a double-knit dress and jacket ensemble with a high collar, which I designed for Reese. But then we see Penny later in the film in a much different look at Doc’s house. Penny’s navy and white dress was inspired by a pair of vintage shoes I found—and the length and shape of her skirts were inspired by Faye Dunaway’s costumes in 1968’s ‘The Thomas Crown Affair.’” Finally, Crocker Fenway presented the ultimate in ruling-class wear. “The scene with Crocker needed to say The Establishment vs. The Counterculture as soon as it began,” Bridges says. “A three-piece suit for Crocker speaks volumes about who he is, suggesting both Senator and crime boss in one costume. Against that, Doc’s very deliberate choice of turtleneck and Indian necklace entirely ignores polite society’s dress code.” The great sweep of supporting characters took Bridges through numerous styles of the era. “Each of the characters was a delight to imagine and design and each one presented their own challenges,” he summarizes. “I especially loved working on Jade and modifying the traditional Chinese cheongsam into sexy little `60s outfits. Tariq was a challenge in creating a real person and not the expected militant cliché. Luz could have gone a few ways, she is described in the book differently, but we went the sexy way and also explored a tougher ‘I’ll cut you’ look during the fitting process. Overall, I was very pleased with how it all worked, not only for the time period, but to create interesting moments and compositions.”

Most gratifying for Bridges was seeing the diverse cast inhabit the clothing. “There is a wonderful moment in a fitting with an actor when the character is suddenly in the room. My theory is that moment happens when an actor sees they look good but they feel like someone else. So many of our actors took on their characters as they slipped on their costumes,” he recalls. “Doc’s sandals made Joaquin walk differently, more like Doc. Bigfoot’s high-waisted `60’s pants made Josh move more like the men of the period, and Shasta maneuvering in that mini dress required her to walk and sit differently than she would normally.” He concludes, “I always feel the costumes are a success when the external work of the costume design and the actor’s inner character work complement each other to make a truly compelling character. I think that happened in ‘Inherent Vice.’” Following production, Anderson cut the extensive footage together with Leslie Jones, with whom he worked on “The Master” and “Punch-Drunk Love.” Jones, like Anderson, began by immersing herself in the expansive consciousness of the Pynchon universe. “Pynchon’s style and rhythm is so unique. It was a powerful inspiration for Paul’s adaptation, and it was always an influence for us in editing,” she says. “I really felt that Paul’s spontaneity with actors, and ease with the camera, seemed to complement Pynchon’s language.” The decision to use a narrator became a key that unlocked the construction of the final film. “Having Sortilège as narrator allowed us enormous flexibility with several things,” Jones explains. “Most importantly, it gave us the luxury of using Pynchon’s voice to directly comment on larger ideas and to present ‘the bigger picture,’ and it was very exciting when that clicked. “Some of our best discoveries and ‘aha’ moments on ‘Inherent Vice’ would come after clumsy attempts to narrate or clarify a scene with descriptive exposition,” she adds, “and then instead we would find a more Pynchon-esque commentary and that was always more interesting and poignant. I think this gave us permission to weave together the different styles of the film, going in and out of noir, mixed with a hippie trip.”

Equalizing the darkness of the noir elements with Doc’s fuzzy, mind-blown way of experiencing the world was a constant source of creative intrigue in the editing process. Jones says she and Anderson found themselves always coming back to the beginning again, back to Doc and that dimmed but undying dream of Gordita Beach. “The challenge and the fun of the process was finding this balance: figuring out which details of the plot were necessary, what could we afford to not understand and still enjoy, and then balancing it all with the politics, humor, absurdity and paranoia of the piece, along with that spacey, drug-high feeling. We were always weighing the need for clarity vs. the value of entertainment vs. emotional engagement,” she says. “But with a story this concentrated, I think the best thing we did is to constantly look at the film as if seeing it for the first time.” That process of always looking at the story from a new skew seemed to befit the looping, yet ever-changing, universe of Pynchon, who wrote in Inherent Vice, “What goes around may come around, but it never ends up exactly the same place, you ever notice? Like a record on a turntable, all it takes is one groove's difference and the universe can be on into a whole ‘nother song.”
 
 

About the Cast

 
Joaquin Phoenix (left) and camera crew with a Panavision camera crossing the street during a take in the film "Inherent Vice" by Paul Thomas Anderson. Image by Warner Brothers

JOAQUIN PHOENIX (Larry “Doc” Sportello) earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2014 for his performance in Spike Jonze’s original love story “Her,” and in 2013 was nominated for the Academy, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards, to name only a few, for his critically acclaimed performance as Freddie Quell in "The Master". He most recently starred opposite Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Renner in the James Gray independent film “The Immigrant.” Phoenix was born in Puerto Rico and began his acting career at the age of eight. As a boy, he made numerous episodic television appearances, on such hit television shows as “Hill Street Blues,” “The Fall Guy” and “Murder, She Wrote.” He was a regular on the short-lived 1986 CBS series "Morningstar/Eveningstar,” and followed, that same year, with his first feature film role in “Spacecamp.” The following year, he starred in “Russkies,” with sister Summer and Carole King. Two years later, director Ron Howard cast the teenager as Dianne Wiest’s son in his popular family comedy “Parenthood.” It wasn’t until 1996 that the young actor returned to the fold with a stunning and critically acclaimed performance opposite Nicole Kidman in Gus Van Sant’s “To Die For.” He next co-starred with Liv Tyler, Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly in “Inventing the Abbotts,” in 1997; and with Claire Danes, Sean Penn and Jennifer Lopez in Oliver Stone’s “U-Turn.” In 1998, Phoenix co-starred opposite Vince Vaughn in two very different roles: as an American jailed in Malaysia for drug possession in “Return to Paradise,” and as a dupe to Vaughn’s smooth-talking serial killer in the black comedy “Clay Pigeons.” He next won acclaim for his role in Joel Schumacher’s dark thriller “8mm,” with Nicolas Cage. In 2000, a banner year for the actor, Phoenix earned his first Academy Award nomination, co-starring opposite Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Best Picture, “Gladiator.” In addition to nominations for the Oscar, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA Award, he received awards as Best Supporting Actor from the National Board of Review and The Broadcast Films Critics Association. He followed with Philip Kaufman’s Oscar-nominated “Quills,” opposite Kate Winslet and Geoffrey Rush, based on Douglas McGrath’s play about the Marquis de Sade, for which he won the Broadcast Film Critics Award as Best Supporting Actor. That same year, he also starred with Mark Wahlberg, James Caan, Faye Dunaway, Ellen Burstyn and Charlize Theron in James Gray’s “The Yards.”
 
Phoenix continued his busy career as Mel Gibson’s brother in the M. Night Shyamalan blockbuster “Signs,” which earned nearly half a billion dollars worldwide. He reteamed with Shyamalan two years later on his gothic thriller “The Village.” Phoenix went on to star in the dark comedy “Buffalo Soldiers,” opposite Ed Harris; took the lead in the firefighting drama "Ladder 49," opposite John Travolta; and, in 2004, earned high praise for his turn as a cynical journalist witnessing the horrific genocide of the Tutsis in Terry George’s “Hotel Rwanda.” In 2006, Phoenix was hailed for his mesmerizing performance as legendary singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, opposite Reese Witherspoon, in James Mangold’s riveting biopic “Walk the Line.” For his performance, he collected his second Academy Award nomination (this time, as Best Actor) and won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical as well as earning nominations for BAFTA, SAG, Critics Choice and Chicago Film Critics Awards. In October 2007, Phoenix starred in two films: “We Own the Night,” for which he reteamed with Mark Wahlberg and director James Gray, and the deeply moving “Reservation Road,” which reunited him with director Terry George and Jennifer Connelly. He later reteamed with director Gray for “Two Lovers,” opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Isabella Rossellini. On October 27, 2008, Phoenix reportedly announced his retirement from film in order to focus on his rap music, but the announcement turned out to be part of his acting role in the mockumentary “I’m Still Here,” directed by his brother-in-law, Casey Affleck. The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2010 and was released in the summer of 2010. A social activist, Phoenix has lent his support to a number of charities and humanitarian organizations, notably Amnesty International, The Art of Elysium, HEART, and The Peace Alliance, an organization which campaigns for a United States Department of Peace; and is on the board of directors for The Lunchbox Fund. In 2005, he received the Humanitarian Award at the San Diego Film Festival for his work and contribution to “Earthlings,” a video about the investigation of animal abuse in factory farms, pet mills, industry and research, that he narrated for Nation Earth. Also in 2005, he lent his voice to the documentary “I’m Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who lived during the Holocaust.” Phoenix has also directed music videos for Ringside, She Wants Revenge, People in Planes, Arckid, Albert Hammond, Jr. and the Silversun Pickups.
 
 
Joaquin Phoenix (Larry “Doc” Sportello) and Josh Brolin (Lt. Det. Christian F. “Bigfoot” Bjornsen) as featured in the film "Inherent Vice" by Paul Thomas Anderson. Image by Warner Brothers

JOSH BROLIN (Lt. Det. Christian F. “Bigfoot” Bjornsen) is an Academy Award nominee who has emerged as one of Hollywood’s top leading men. A powerful, sought-after film actor, Brolin continues to balance challenging roles in both mainstream studio productions as well as thought-provoking independents. Brolin will next be seen in the Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller-directed “Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For,” set to be released August 22nd by The Weinstein Company. The actor recently completed production on “Everest” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, and John Hawkes. Based on the book Thin Air, the film recounts the devastating events which occurred as a group of hikers attempted to conquer the summit in 1996. He is currently in production on Denis Villenueve’s “Sicario” which is about an officer who travels across the Mexican border with a pair of mercenaries to track down a notorious drug lord. The film also stars Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro. Brolin recently signed on to star in Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Hail, Caesar!” which was recently acquired by Universal Pictures, co-starring George Clooney, Channing Tatum, and Tilda Swinton. In 2008, Brolin was nominated for an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and received awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review for his portrayal of Dan White in Gus Van Sant's acclaimed film “Milk.” He starred in the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit,” which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture; Oliver Stone's “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” opposite Shia LaBeouf and Michael Douglas. He received rave reviews for his portrayal of George W. Bush in Oliver Stone's biopic, “W.” Prior to that, Brolin earned a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of an ensemble for his work in the Coen Brothers’ “No Country for Old Men,” which also won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Additionally, Brolin starred in Ridley Scott's blockbuster “American Gangster” and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of this ensemble. His other film credits include: “Labor Day” directed by Jason Reitman; Spike Lee’s “Old Boy”; “Gangster Squad”; “Men in Black 3”; “Planet Terror”; part of the critically acclaimed Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez double feature, “Grindhouse”; Woody Allen’s “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger” opposite Anthony Hopkins and Naomi Watts; “In the Valley of Elah” for director Paul Haggis; John Stockwell's, “Into the Blue”; Victor Nunez's “Coastlines”; Paul Verhoeven's blockbuster hit, “Hollow Man”; Scott Silver's “Mod Squad”; Ole Bornedal's psychological thriller “Nightwatch”; “Best Laid Plans” opposite Reese Witherspoon, produced by Mike Newell; “All the Rage”; and Guillermo Del Toro's science-fiction thriller, “Mimic.” Brolin also received recognition from critics and audiences in David O. Russell's “Flirting with Disaster,” portraying a bisexual federal agent, alongside an outstanding ensemble cast led by Ben Stiller. Brolin made his feature film debut starring in the action-comedy classic “Goonies,” directed by Richard Donner for producer Steven Spielberg. On television, Brolin made his mark as a series regular in the popular ABC series “The Young Riders,” as well as “Private Eye” for NBC and “Winnetka Road” for CBS. Brolin also received critical praise in the TNT's epic miniseries “Into the West,” opposite Beau Bridges, Gary Busey and Jessica Capshaw. In addition, Brolin starred in the title role of NBC's acclaimed political drama, “Mr. Sterling.” As a producer, Brolin joined Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Anthony Arnove, and Howard Zinn, in a documentary entitled “The People Speak,” based on Zinn’s influential 1980 book A People’s History of the United States. The film, which aired on the History Channel in 2009, looked at America’s struggles with war, class, race, and women’s rights, and featured readings by Viggo Mortensen, Sean Penn, and David Strathairn, among others. Brolin made his directing debut in 2008 with a short entitled “X,” which he also wrote and produced. It premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival before screening at such festivals as South by Southwest and the AFI Dallas Film Festival.

OWEN WILSON (Coy Harlingen) is one of contemporary cinema’s most successful actors, having won great acclaim for his memorable turns in mainstream and independent films. In 2011, Wilson starred in the Woody Allen’s Academy Award-nominated feature “Midnight in Paris,” alongside Rachel McAdams and Marion Cotillard. Wilson’s performance as screenwriter and aspiring novelist Gil Pender garnered him a Golden Globe nomination in the category of Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In December, Wilson will star in the third installment of the “Night at the Museum” franchise, “Secret of the Tomb,” directed by Shawn Levy. In the summer of 2015, Wilson will star in Jared Hess’s armored car heist comedy, opposite Zach Galifianakis and Kristen Wiig. Wilson most recently starred in the Peter Bogdanovich comedy “She’s Funny That Way,” opposite Jennifer Aniston and produced by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and in the thriller “The Coup,” opposite Michelle Monaghan and Pierce Brosnan and directed by John Erick Dowdle. Wilson’s string of box office successes also include “Little Fockers,” the third installment of the blockbuster “Fockers” series, opposite Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro; “Marley & Me,” with Jennifer Aniston, based on the popular memoir by John Grogan; “Night At The Museum” and the sequel, “Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian,” opposite Robin Williams and Ben Stiller; the smash hit comedy “Wedding Crashers,” opposite Vince Vaughn; the romantic comedy “You, Me And Dupree”; and as the voice of Lightning McQueen in Disney’s “Cars” and “Cars 2.” Wilson starred opposite Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman in Wes Anderson’s critically acclaimed film “The Darjeeling Limited,” about brothers taking a spiritual journey through India to rekindle their bond. Wilson has collaborated with director Anderson seven times, including “The Grand Budapest Hotel”; “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou,” co-starring Bill Murray and Anjelica Huston; “The Royal Tenenbaums,” for which he and Anderson were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay; “Rushmore,” which Wilson co-wrote and co-executive produced; and Anderson’s directorial debut, “Bottle Rocket,” which Wilson starred in and co-wrote. Wilson also lent his voice to Anderson’s Academy Award-nominated animated feature “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Wilson’s additional acting credits include “The Internship,” “Free Birds,” “Are You Here,” James L. Brooks’ romantic comedy “How Do You Know,” “The Big Year,” “Hall Pass,” “Marmaduke,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “Zoolander,” “Drillbit Taylor,” “The Wendell Baker Story,” “Shanghai Noon,” “Behind Enemy Lines,” “I Spy,” “Shanghai Knights,” “Armageddon,” “The Minus Man” and “The Cable Guy.”

KATHERINE WATERSTON (Shasta Fey Hepworth) was seen in “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” opposite Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. She also appeared in Kelly Reichardt’s “Night Moves” opposite Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jesse Eisenberg which also premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was distributed by Cinedigm. Katherine was recently seen recurring in the critically acclaimed HBO series “Boardwalk Empire.” Katherine’s other credits include “Michael Clayton” directed by Tony Gilroy for Warner Brothers, “Taking Woodstock” directed by Ang Lee for Focus Features, and “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City” directed by Paul Weitz.
 
 
REESE WITHERSPOON (Deputy D.A. Penny Kimball) is an Academy Award winner who has created the kind of unforgettable characters that connect with critics and audiences alike, making her one of Hollywood’s most sought after actresses. In 2012, Witherspoon partnered with producer Bruna Papandrea to launch Pacific Standard Films. The new production banner hit the ground running, setting up adaptations of bestsellers “Wild” and “Gone Girl,” as well as a range of comedies and dramas. Witherspoon can currently be seen in “The Good Lie,” the story of the Lost Boys of Sudan. She recently wrapped production on a film in which she stars alongside Sofia Vergara. Produced by Pacific Standard Films and directed by Anne Fletcher, the comedy follows the story of a police officer, played by Witherspoon, who goes on a run in Texas with a prisoner, played by Vergara. The film is slated for release on May 8, 2015. Witherspoon will also be seen in the upcoming film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s eponymous memoir “Wild,” which is also being produced under the Pacific Standard banner and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. Witherspoon portrays Cheryl Strayed on her 1000-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail to help cope with her mother’s death, a failed relationship, and a drug addiction. The film will have a limited release on December 5, 2014. Witherspoon was last seen in Atom Egoyan’s drama “Devil’s Knot,” opposite Colin Firth, based on the notorious West Memphis Three case. She plays Pam Hobbs, the mother of one of three young murder victims. The film debuted at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Prior to that, Witherspoon starred in Jeff Nichols’ coming-of-age drama “Mud,” alongside Matthew McConaughey. The film premiered to rave reviews in competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and its domestic debut at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Previously, Witherspoon was seen in the romantic comedy “This Means War,” directed by McG. She stars alongside Tom Hardy and Chris Pine, who play two CIA agents and best friends that discover that they are dating the same woman. Witherspoon was also seen in the period love story “Water for Elephants,” with Robert Pattinson and Christoph Waltz. In 2009, Witherspoon was heard as the voice of Susan Murphy in the 2009 animated film “Monsters vs. Aliens,” and also starred opposite Vince Vaughn in the hit comedy “Four Christmases.” In 2010, she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Witherspoon strongly supports the passage of the International Violence Against Women’s act, which creates a comprehensive approach to combat violence. Witherspoon has been active on behalf of the Rape Treatment Center at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center and Save the Children. She currently serves on the board of the Children’s Defense Fund, with whom she has been involved for many years, raising money and awareness for their many programs. Since 2010, Witherspoon has been actively involved in Stand Up to Cancer and recently hosted their annual benefit. In 2006, her extraordinary performance as June Carter Cash in the bio-pic “Walk the Line” earned her the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, as well as the BAFTA, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, New York Film Critics Award, Broadcast Film Critics Award, People’s Choice Award and 11 other awards. She is also known for her indelible performance as Tracy Flick in Alexander Payne’s “Election,” and the loveable Elle Woods in the break-out hits “Legally Blonde” and “Legally Blonde 2.” Her other notable films include “Sweet Home Alabama,” which had the largest opening at the time for a female-driven romantic comedy, Mira Nair’s “Vanity Fair,” Gary Ross’ “Pleasantville,” and the teen cult classic, “Cruel Intentions.”

BENICIO DEL TORO (Sauncho Smilax, Esq.) has earned critical accolades throughout his career, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” as well as an Oscar nomination for his work in Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu’s “21 Grams.” Del Toro re-teamed with Soderbergh to star in the biography of Che Guevera. He starred opposite Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins in Joe Johnston’s “The Wolfman” and as Lado in Oliver Stone’s “Savages.” He was also seen as Jimmy, the lead in “Jimmy P”; the film was screened at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He can currently be seen in the blockbuster sci-fi action film “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Next year he will play Pablo Escobar in “Paradise Lost”, Mambru in Fernando Leon’s “A Perfect Day,” and is currently in production on Denis Villeneuve’s “Sicario.” Del Toro’s previous works include the film adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel “Sin City,” directed by Robert Rodriquez; Peter Weir's “Fearless”; George Huang’s “Swimming with Sharks”; Abel Ferrara’'s “The Funeral”; Guy Ritchie's “Snatch”; Sean Penn’s “The Indian Runner” and “The Pledge”; Christopher McQuarrie’s “The Way of the Gun"; William Friedkin’s “The Hunted”; Susanne Bier’s “Things We Lost in the Fire,” starring opposite Halle Berry; and as Dr. Gonzo in Terry Gilliam’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” Del Toro made his motion picture debut in John Glen’s “License to Kill,” opposite Timothy Dalton’s James Bond, and has earned critical acclaim for his performances ever since. In addition to winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” his performance also garnered a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award and BAFTA Awards, the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, as well as citations from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the Chicago Film Critics Association. His work in “21 Grams” also earned Del Toro the Audience Award for Best Actor at the 2003 Venice International Film Festival. He earned Independent Spirit Awards for his performances as Fred Fenster in Bryan Singer’s “The Usual Suspects,” and as Benny Dalmau in Julian Schnabel's “Basquiat.” Born in Puerto Rico, Del Toro grew up in Pennsylvania. He attended the University of California at San Diego, where he appeared in numerous student productions, one of which led to his performing at a drama festival at the Lafayette Theater in New York. Del Toro studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory under the tutelage of Arthur Mendoza.

MARTIN SHORT (Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd, D.D.S.) a celebrated comedian and actor, has won fans and accolades in television, film and theater since his breakout season on “Saturday Night Live” almost 30 years ago; he returned to “SNL” to host their Christmas special on Dec 15, 2012. Short won his first Emmy in 1982 while working on Canada’s “SCTV Comedy Network,” which brought him to the attention of the producers of “Saturday Night Live.” He became a fan-favorite for his portrayal of characters such as Ed Grimley, lawyer Nathan Thurm and “legendary songwriter” Irving Cohen. His popularity and exposure on “Saturday Night Live” led Short to cross over quickly into feature films. He made his debut in “Three Amigos,” and followed with “Inner Space,” “Three Fugitives,” “Clifford,” “Pure Luck” and Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks.” One of Short’s most memorable roles was in the remake of “Father of the Bride,” as Franck the wedding planner, a role he reprised a few years later in “Father of the Bride Part II.” Short is featured in the animated film “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” and the Tim Burton film “Frankenweenie.” An accomplished stage actor, Short won a Tony and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his role in the revival of “Little Me.” He was also nominated for a Tony and took home an Outer Critics Circle Award for the musical version of Neil Simon’s “The Goodbye Girl.” He co-wrote and starred in “Fame Becomes Me.” Short returned to television in an Emmy-nominated role for the mini-series “Merlin,” and host of “The Martin Short Show,” which garnered him seven Emmy nominations. Short also wrote, produced and starred in three comedy specials, winning two Cable ACE awards and an Emmy. In 2001, he launched the critically acclaimed “Primetime Glick,” garnering another five Emmy nominations. Short was nominated for his 19th Emmy award in 2010, for his work as the lawyer Leonard Winstone on the critically acclaimed FX series “Damages.” Short was most recently seen on the CBS hit comedy series “How I Met Your Mother,” in the recurring role of Garrison Cootes. His voice can be heard as the Cat in the critically acclaimed PBS series “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That.” He can next be seen starring in the new FOX series “Mulaney,” premiering on October 5, 2014. His much anticipated memoir, titled I Must Say, will be released on November 4, 2014 through HarperCollins Publishing. In 1994, Short was awarded the Order of Canada, the Canadian equivalent to British Knighthood. He was also inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame in June 2000.
 
 
JENA MALONE (Hope Harlingen) is a rising actress, distinguished by her versatility and multidimensional roles, who continues to evolve with each new project. Malone can next be seen in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.” She is reprising her role as Johanna Mason, the tribute from District 7, who is proficient with an axe. The film was released on November 21, 2014. Malone previously starred in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” which has grossed over $800 million dollars worldwide and is the highest grossing film released in 2013 in the United States. She most recently wrapped production on Oren Moverman’s “Time Out of Mind,” starring alongside Richard Gere. The film is about a New Yorker who enters a shelter when he runs out of housing options, then struggles to put the pieces of his life back together and fix a troubled relationship with his estranged daughter. Additionally, Malone recently wrapped production on Mitchell Lichtenstein's “Angelica,” a psychological thriller set in 1880s London, based on the novel of the same name by bestselling author Arthur Phillip. Malone will play Constance, a young shop girl who falls for and marries Dr. Joseph Barton. After the difficult childbirth of their daughter, Angelica, doctor-ordered celibacy creates a rift in the Bartons' marriage and a ghostly force enters their home. Malone was recently cast to play the lead role in Dori Oskowitz's “Claire.” The American remake of Eric Rohmer's 1982 French pic “Le Beau Mariage” follows an eccentric young woman in her twenties living in Long Island with her aunt and teenage cousin. Fed up with her married painter lover, Claire sets her sights on a man she barely knows with aims to get herself married.

Malone starred opposite Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton in the History Channel's mini-series “Hatfields & McCoys,” which is based on a true story and chronicles the bloody hostilities between two clans that escalated to the point of near war between two states. The mini-series broke cable records and became the new most-watched entertainment telecast of all time on cable, and also earned an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Mini-Series and a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Mini-Series. Previously, Malone starred in Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch,” Ami Mann's “Dakota,” Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger,” Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild,” Anthony Minghella’s “Cold Mountain,” Brian Dannelly’s “Saved!,” Joe Wright’s “Pride and Prejudice,” M. Blash’s “The Wait” and Brian Savelson’s “In Our Nature.” As a young actress, Malone starred opposite Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon in “Stepmom,” the cult classic “Donnie Darko,” and her very first role in the independent film “Bastard out of Carolina,” which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance. Malone has guest starred on several television series, including “Law & Order” and “Chicago Hope,” and her performance in the TV film “Hope” earned Malone a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV. In Spring 2013, Malone directed her first music video, for the band Lavender Diamond. The video for “The Incorruptible Heart” was released exclusively on MTV Buzzworthy. Malone is also currently touring with her band, The Shoe. She and her bandmate, Lem Jay Ignacio, met in 2008, and shortly after started recording together. Malone built an instrument she plays called “The Shoe,” which includes an old steamer trunk with a plethora of electronic instruments inside. Their first EP, At Lem Jay’'s Garage, came out in 2009 under her label There Was an Old Woman Records. Their full-length album I’m Okay was released in spring 2014.

JOANNA NEWSOM (Sortilège) has been hailed by the New York Times as one of indie music’s leading lights, and she extends her talent repertoire beyond singer, songwriter and harpist with her recent venture into film in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Inherent Vice.” Classically trained as a harpist, Newsom began attracting attention as a songwriter after her home recordings found their way into the hands of record label Drag City, in 2002. She released her first full-length album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, in 2003, which she supported on solo tours throughout the U.S. and Europe over the next few years, as well as with television performances on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “Later…with Jools Holland.” In 2006, Newsom released her sophomore album Ys, featuring orchestral arrangements by Van Dyke Parks and recorded by Steve Albini. The album garnered sweeping acclaim, with its first pressing selling out worldwide. Her tour for the album featured a stripped-down backing band, comprised of drums, guitar, violin, and banjo. Newsom also performed in a series of sold-out headlining concerts accompanied by full orchestras, at such venues as Royal Albert Hall in London, Sydney Opera House, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. During this time, Newsom’s music was also the subject of a book of essays and critical analyses by Dave Eggers and other admirers, called Visions of Joanna Newsom (Roan Press). Her third album, Have One on Me, was released in 2009. A triple record, it received widespread critical praise, and earned Newsom her best chart positions to date. She toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the United States in support of Have One on Me, including performances on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show With Dave Letterman,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and the “Austin City Limits” television program. She also appeared on “Portlandia” during this time, and branched out into musical collaborations with Philip Glass, The Roots and Fleet Foxes. In 2010, Newsom was the subject of a tribute record benefiting Oxfam and featuring M. Ward, Billy Bragg, and others covering her songs.

ERIC ROBERTS (Michael Z. Wolfmann) is an Academy Award nominee for his role in “Runaway Train” and a three-time Golden Globe nominee for “Runaway Train,” “Star 80” and “King of the Gypsies.” In addition, Roberts received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival for his roles in “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” in 2006, and “It’s My Party,” in 1996. He starred in “La Cucaracha,” which won Best Film at the Austin Film Festival in 1998, and for which Roberts won Best Actor at the New York Independent Film Festival that same year. Other notable performances include his roles in “Final Analysis,” “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” “Raggedy Man,” “Hollywood Dreams,” “Babyfever,” “Heaven’s Prisoners,” “The Dark Knight” and “The Expendables.” On television, Roberts has received international attention for roles in “Heroes,” “Entourage” and “The L Word.” He also made a profound impact in the Emmy-nominated adaptation of Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood,” directed by Jonathan Kaplan. He joined the cast of the Starz series “Crash” for its second season, playing the kind of complex character Roberts is known for. Roberts has also diversified into music videos, appearing in Sophie Muller’s “Mr. Brightside” video for The Killers, plus its upcoming prequel, and Brett Ratner’s video for Mariah Carey’s “Emancipation of Mimi”—both award winners. One of his most popular appearances was as the surprised recipient of a heartfelt, spontaneous shout out from “The Wrestler’s” Mickey Rourke at the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards. In 1989, Roberts won the Theatre World Award for his role on Broadway in “Burn This.” He returned to the New York stage in 2003 in “The Exonerated,” and appeared in the show’s touring company as well. Roberts was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and grew up in and around the Atlanta area. He began his career in theatre, and as an actor in his late teens in New York City on the soap opera “Another World.” His personal passions can be explored at naturalchild.org and preciouspaws.org

HONG CHAU (Jade) is making her film debut in “Inherent Vice.” She and her family immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam and settled in New Orleans, LA. More of an introvert, she fancied writing and had never considered becoming an actor. While in New York, she took acting and improv classes. Initially, it was to help overcome her shyness, but she discovered that she secretly enjoyed performing. With the encouragement of a veteran sitcom director, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Soon after arriving in Hollywood, Chau had the fortune of returning to her hometown of New Orleans to play the role of Linh in David Simon’s HBO series “Treme” for three seasons. She is currently a series regular on the NBC comedy “A to Z.”
 
 
MAYA RUDOLPH (Petunia Leeway) is an Emmy Award-nominated actress most widely known for her turn on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, where she was one of the show’s regular players for over seven years, as well as her various television projects and film appearances. Rudolph was most recently seen in her well-received comic-variety show special “The Maya Rudolph Show,” which aired on NBC on May 19th. The special was executive produced by Lorne Michaels and debuted with 7.23 million viewers. Rudolph can currently be heard voicing the role of Aunt Cass in the highly anticipated animated feature “Big Hero 6.” Rudolph previously starred in the critically acclaimed “The Way, Way Back”; the film was the directorial debut of Oscar-winning writers Jim Rash and Nat Faxon. It received rave reviews at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and was released in July of 2013. The film went on the be nominated for various awards and grossed $22 million at the domestic box office. Rudolph also reunited with cast-mates Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James and David Spade in the family comedy “Grown Ups 2.” As a master in the art of comedy, Rudolph starred in Paul Feig’s comedy “Bridesmaids,” alongside Kristen Wiig, which has grossed nearly $300 million in the box office worldwide and garnered numerous accolades since it opened May 13, 2011. In 2009, she earned rave reviews for her performance opposite John Krasinski in the comedic and heartfelt film “Away We Go,” directed by Sam Mendes from a script by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, and in 2006 for her performance opposite Luke Wilson in “Idiocracy,” written and directed by Mike Judge.

SASHA PIETERSE (Japonica Fenway) is a film and television star best known for her lead role on ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars,” which is now in its fifth season. She plays Alison DiLaurentis, the former queen bee whose mysterious disappearance rocked the small suburban town where she lived. In addition to her successful acting career, Pieterse has launched her singing career, releasing four singles with co-writer and producer Dan Franklin. Pieterse got her start in television in 2002 at the age of six, starring in The WB comedy series “Family Affair,” a remake of the late 1960s hit, as Buffy, opposite Gary Cole. She was awarded with a Young Artist's Award for her work on the series. She later reunited with Cole as his daughter in the cable thriller “Wanted.” Pieterse's first major film role was as the Ice Princess in Robert Rodriguez’s “The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl 3D,” with Taylor Lautner and George Lopez. She also starred in “Good Luck Chuck,” and in the telefilm “Claire,” opposite Valerie Bertinelli. Pieterse appeared in the hit series “Heroes,” in the recurring role of Amanda Strazzulla, a young gypsy girl with fire powers. She guest starred in “House M.D.,” as a terminal cancer patient who was terrified of dying without ever being kissed, where Pieterse was put forward for a nomination for a daytime Emmy. She also guest starred in “Without a Trace,” in a terrifying turn as a kidnapping victim. In 2011, she appeared as Amy Loubalu in the Disney Channel Original Movie “Geek Charming,” and also as a teenage girl in the movie “X-Men: First Class.” In 2007, she starred in a feature film alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar, called “The Air I Breathe.” More recently, Pieterse has appeared in the film “G.B.F.,” with one of the lead roles of Fawcett Brooks; in an episode of “Hawaii Five-0” as a terrorist pupil named Dawn Hatfield; and wrapped filming the feature “Burning Bodhi,” where she stars alongside Virginia Madsen and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting. Pieterse, was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and emigrated to America for better opportunities. She landed in Las Vegas with her show business parents before the family moved to Los Angeles. She became accustomed to the rigors of a career in entertainment at an early age, as her parents were a professional acrobatic dance team who performed all over the world. When she was just four-and-a-half years old, Pieterse met with a Los Angeles agent who quickly signed her, and she has been acting and modeling ever since. She has appeared in scores of television commercials, on billboards and booked modeling assignments throughout the country.

MICHAEL KENNETH WILLIAMS (Tariq Khalil) is one of television’s most respected and acclaimed actors. By bringing complicated and charismatic characters to life—often with surprising tenderness—Williams has established himself as a gifted and versatile performer with a unique ability to mesmerize audiences with his stunning character portrayals. Williams is best known for his remarkable work on “The Wire,” which ran for five seasons on HBO. The wit and humor that Williams brought to Omar, the whistle-happy, profanity-averse, dealer-robbing stickup man, earned him high praise and made Omar one of television’s most memorable characters. For his work, Williams was nominated in 2009 for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Williams co-starred in HBO’s critically acclaimed series “Boardwalk Empire,” which premiered in 2010 and is currently in its last season. In the Martin Scorsese-produced show, Williams plays Chalky White, a 1920s bootlegger and impeccably suited veritable mayor of the Atlantic City’s African-American community. In 2012, “Boardwalk Empire” won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In 2014, Michael Kenneth Williams was nominated for a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in Drama Series for “Boardwalk Empire.” Williams continued to show his versatility by guest-starring in three episodes of “Community,” an NBC comedy series. His other television credits include “Law & Order,” “CSI,” “The Philanthropist” and “Boston Legal.” He also had a recurring role on “The Sopranos” and J.J. Abrams’ “Alias.” He will next be seen starring along John Turturro in Steve Zaillian’s series for HBO, “Criminal Justice.”

Williams made his feature film debut in the urban drama “Bullet,” after being discovered by the late Tupac Shakur. He also appeared in “Bringing Out the Dead,” which was directed by Martin Scorsese. His other film work includes roles in “The Road”; “Gone Baby Gone”; “Life During Wartime”; “I Think I Love My Wife”; “Wonderful World”; “Snitch,” opposite Dwayne Johnson and Susan Sarandon; “Robocop,” starring Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton; and a supporting role in the Academy Award-winning Steve McQueen film “12 Years A Slave,” with Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt. Williams was most recently seen in “Kill the Messenger,” opposite Jeremy Renner, and will next be seen in the feature “Captive,” opposite Kate Mara and David Oyelowo. He will also star opposite Queen Latifah in the HBO Film “Bessie,” and opposite Mark Wahlberg in the remake of “The Gambler.” Giving back to the community plays an important role in Williams’ off-camera life. He has established Making Kids Win, a charitable organization whose primary objective is to build community centers in urban neighborhoods that are in need of safe spaces for children to learn and play. In 2014, Williams also became the ACLU’s Ambassador to end mass incarceration. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Williams began his career as a performer by dancing professionally at age 22. After numerous appearances in music videos and as a background dancer on concert tours for Madonna and George Michael, Williams decided to seriously pursue acting. He participated in several productions of the La MaMa Experimental Theatre, the prestigious National Black Theatre Company, and the Theater for a New Generation, directed by Mel Williams. Michael Kenneth Williams resides in Brooklyn, New York.

JEANNIE BERLIN (Aunt Reet) was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Elaine May’s “The Heartbreak Kid,” opposite Charles Grodin and Cybill Shepherd. Her additional feature film credits include “Vijay and I”; “Margaret”; “In the Spirit,” which she also co-wrote; the title role in “Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York”; “Bone”; “Portnoy’s Complaint”; “The Baby Maker”; and “Getting Straight.” On the small screen, she appeared in the series “Miss Match” and “Columbo,” and in the TV movies “Two on a Bench and “In Name Only.” Berlin has also appeared on Broadway, in “After the Night and the Music.”
 
 

About the Filmmakers

 
Director of "Inherent Vice", Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson introducign the 70mm premiere in Paris, France at the L'Arlequin cinema. Image by Jean-Luc Peart

PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON (Director / Screenwriter / Producer) wrote and directed “Hard Eight” (1996), “Boogie Nights” (1997), “Magnolia” (1999), “Punch-Drunk Love” (2002), “There Will Be Blood” (2007) and "The Master" (2012).

THOMAS PYNCHON (Author) is the author of V.; The Crying of Lot 49; Gravity’s Rainbow; Slow Learner, a collection of short stories; Vineland; Mason & Dixon; Against the Day; Inherent Vice; and, most recently, Bleeding Edge. He received the National Book Award for Gravity’s Rainbow in 1974.

JOANNE SELLAR (Producer) has previously paired with Paul Thomas Anderson on “Boogie Nights,” nominated for three Oscars; “Magnolia,” nominated for three Oscars; “Punch-Drunk Love”; “There Will Be Blood,” which was nominated for eight Oscars, including Best Film, and won Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Cinematography (Robert Elswit); and “The Master,” which was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix), Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams). In addition, Sellar produced Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming’s critically acclaimed “The Anniversary Party.” Her repertoire of feature film producing credits began with the sci-fi thriller “Hardware.” She went on to produce such films as Richard Stanley’s “Dust Devil,” George Sluizer’s “Dark Blood,” and Clive Barker’s “Lord of Illusions.” Prior to segueing to film, Sellar had a successful career producing music videos for the likes of U2, Elvis Costello and Iggy Pop. Her diverse experience also extends into television, where she co-produced “Red, Hot, & Blue,” a worldwide tribute to Cole Porter benefiting AIDS research. Her career began in the early `80s, programming a repertory cinema in London called The Scala, which won acclaim for its diverse, original and alternative film selections.

DANIEL LUPI (Producer) most recently executive produced Spike Jonzes’s critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning film “Her,” starring Joaquin Phoenix. In 2012, he executive produced Steven Spielberg’s Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated biographical drama “Lincoln,” after previously working with Spielberg on “Catch Me If You Can.” He is currently executive producing the director’s upcoming cold war thriller, due out in 2015. He also collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson on the acclaimed drama “The Master,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix; “There Will Be Blood,” which received a Best Picture Oscar nomination; “Punch-Drunk Love”; “Magnolia”; “Boogie Nights”; and “Hard Eight.”

SCOTT RUDIN (Executive Producer) Films include “Top Five,” “While We’re Young,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Captain Phillips,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “Frances Ha,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” “Moneyball,” “Margaret,” “The Social Network,” “True Grit,” “Greenberg,” “It’s Complicated,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Julie & Julia,” “Doubt,” “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Reprise,” “The Queen,” “Margot at the Wedding,” “Notes on a Scandal,” “Venus,” “Closer,” “Team America: World Police,” “I Heart Huckabees,” “School of Rock,” “The Hours,” “Iris,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Zoolander,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Wonder Boys,” “Bringing Out the Dead,” “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,” “The Truman Show,” “In & Out,” “Ransom,” “The First Wives Club,” “Clueless,” “Nobody’s Fool,” “The Firm,” “Searching for Bobby Fischer,” “Sister Act,” and “The Addams Family.” Theatre includes “Hamlet,” “Seven Guitars,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “The Chairs,” “The Blue Room,” “Closer,” “Amy’s View,” “Copenhagen,” “The Designated Mourner,” “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?,” “Caroline, or Change,” “The Normal Heart,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” “Doubt,” “Faith Healer,” “The History Boys,” “Shining City,” “Stuff Happens,” “The Vertical Hour,” “The Year of Magical Thinking,” “Gypsy,” “God of Carnage,” “Fences,” “The House of Blue Leaves,” “Jerusalem,” “The Motherf**ker With the Hat,” “The Book of Mormon,” “One Man, Two Guvnors,” “Death of a Salesman,” “The Testament of Mary,” and “A Raisin in the Sun.”
 
 
"Inherent Vice" 70mm premiere in Paris, France at the L'Arlequin cinema. Image by Jean-Luc Peart

ADAM SOMNER (Executive Producer) has amassed an impressive list of feature film credits and worked with some of the industry’s most respected directors, including a long collaboration with Ridley Scott, working with him on eight films, including “1492: Conquest of Paradise,” “White Squall,” “G.I. Jane,” “Gladiator,” “Hannibal,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Kingdom of Heaven” and the upcoming “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” scheduled for release this December. He also worked with Tony Scott three time times, on the films “Unstoppable,” “Man on Fire” and “Spy Game.” Somner most recently was the First A.D. and co-producer on Martin Scorsese’s critically acclaimed, award-winning “The Wolf of Wall Street.” “Inherent Vice” marks his third collaboration as first assistant director with Paul Thomas Anderson, having previously worked on Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood” and “The Master,” the latter for which Somner also served as executive producer. He first worked with Steven Spielberg on the filmmaker’s third installment in the “Indiana Jones” franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” and has since served as First A.D. on Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds,” “Munich,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “The Adventures of Tintin,” which he also was an associate producer, and “War Horse” and “Lincoln,” both of which he also co-produced, and both of which were honored with Christopher Awards for displaying the highest values of the human spirit. Somner is currently set to executive produce and act as First A.D. on the director’s upcoming cold war thriller, due out in 2015. Somner’s additional feature film credits include Gore Verbinski’s “Rango”; Robert Redford’s “Lions for Lambs”; Gary Ross’s “Seabiscuit”; Richard Attenborough’s “Shadowlands”; and Stephen Sommer’s “The Mummy” and “The Jungle Book.”

ROBERT ELSWIT (Director of Photography) won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography for his work on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood.” He also earned a BAFTA Award nomination and won several critics associations’ awards for his cinematography on the film, including the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics Awards. Elswit has collaborated with Anderson on several of the director’s films, beginning with “Hard Eight,” and also including “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “Punch-Drunk Love.” Elswit earned his first Oscar nomination for his black-and-white cinematography on George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck.,” for which he won an Independent Spirit Award, as well as the Los Angeles and Boston Film Critics Awards. He also lensed the George Clooney starrers “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” “Michael Clayton” and “Syriana.” In addition to his work with Anderson, Elswit has worked repeatedly with a number of directors on such projects as Gary Fleder’s “Runaway Jury” and “Imposter”; “Redbelt” and “Heist,” with writer/director David Mamet; Curtis Hanson’s “The River Wild,” “Bad Influence” and “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle”; and “A Dangerous Woman,” “Waterland” and “Paris Trout,” directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal. Elswit’s long list of film credits also includes Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler,” Tony Gilroy’s “The Bourne Legacy,” Brad Bird’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Ben Affleck’s “The Town,” Joel Schumacher’s “8MM,” the Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies,” Mike Newell’s “Amazing Grace and Chuck,” and Rob Reiner’s “The Sure Thing.” In addition, he worked on Martin Scorsese’s acclaimed Rolling Stones documentary “Shine a Light.”

DAVID CRANK (Production Designer) previously teamed up with Paul Thomas Anderson as co-production designer on “The Master.” Currently, he is working on Peter Landesman’s project starring Will Smith. He also recently designed “The Double,” starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska, directed by Richard Ayoade. As an art director, Crank has worked with some of today’s most talented filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg and Terrence Malick. With Crank’s involvement, the series “John Adams” on HBO won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie, as well as an Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design. In addition, Crank’s work contributed to the Art Directors Guild Award for Spielber’s “Lincoln,” and an Art Directors Guild Award win for Anderson’s “There Will Be Blood.” Crank’s other art direction credits include “To the Wonder,” “Water for Elephants,” “The Tree of Life” and “The New World.” Crank received his bachelor’s degree at The College of William & Mary in 1982, and in 1984 graduated from Carnegie-Mellon with a Masters in Fine Arts.
 
 
DP70 70mm projector showing "Inherent Vice"

LESLIE JONES (Editor) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for Terrence Malick’s acclaimed war epic “The Thin Red Line.” She was also nominated twice for the American Cinema Editors Eddie Award, for “The Thin Red Line” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love.”  She more recently collaborated with Anderson on “The Master,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams. Her work with director Todd Phillips includes “School for Scoundrels” and “Starsky & “Hutch,” starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. She also edited Paul Weitz’s comedy “Little Fockers,” starring with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, as well as his sci-fi film “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,” starring John C. Reilly. Jones’s other film credits include “The Words,” starring Bradley Cooper; Roman Coppola’s comedy “CQ,” starring Jeremy Davies and Gerard Depardieu; Fina Torres’ romantic comedy “Woman on Top,” starring Penelope Cruz; and Dwight Little’s thriller “Murder at 1600,” starring Wesley Snipes and Diane Lane.

MARK BRIDGES (Costume Designer) was born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Arts from Stony Brook University. He then worked at the legendary Barbara Matera Costumes in New York City as a shopper for a wide range of Broadway, dance and film projects. Following his time at Matera's, Mark studied for three years at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in costume design. After New York University, Mark began working in film whenever possible and was assistant costume designer on the film “In the Spirit” with Marlo Thomas and Elaine May and design assistant to Colleen Atwood on the Jonathon Demme film “Married to the Mob.” In 1988, Mark worked as design assistant for designer Richard Hornung on the film “Miller's Crossing,” a collaboration that would continue for eight more films. In 1989, Mark relocated to Los Angeles to be assistant costume designer to Richard Hornung on “The Grifters,” “Barton Fink,” “Doc Hollywood,” “Hero,” “Dave,” “The Hudsucker Proxy,” “Natural Born Killers,” and “Nixon.” In 1995, Mark began his costume design collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson, designing “Hard Eight.” Their next work together was on the critically acclaimed “Boogie Nights,” followed by “Magnolia,” “Punch-Drunk Love” and “There Will Be Blood” starring Daniel Day Lewis. Mark also designed “The Master” starring Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Mark won an Academy Award, a BAFTA award and in 2012, for his costume design for the popular 2011 silent film, Best Picture Academy Award winner “The Artist,” for director Michel Hazanavicius. Other work includes “The Fighter” for director David O. Russell, starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams, “Greenberg,” starring Ben Stiller, for director Noah Baumbach, “Yes Man,” starring Jim Carrey, “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr., “Be Cool” with John Travolta, “I Heart Huckabees” with Dustin Hoffman and Isabel Huppert, “The Italian Job” starring Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron, “8 Mile” starring Eminem, “Blow” starring Johnny Depp, “Deep Blue Sea,” “Blast From the Past ” and “Can't Hardly Wait.” Mark also designed “Captain Phillips” starring Tom Hanks for director Paul Greengrass. Most recently Mark has designed the costumes for the film adaptation of the bestselling novel Fifty Shades of Grey for director Sam Taylor-Johnson, starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan.

Bridges' costume designs will be part of the Hollywood Costume exhibit at the Victoria and Albert museum in London England in the fall of 2012. Mark’s designs were also part of the 1998 Biennale di Firenze Fashion/Cinema exhibit and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences exhibit Fifty Designers, Fifty Costumes: Concept to Character shown in Los Angeles and Tokyo in 2002. Mark was also one of the film artists included in “On Otto,” an installation at the Fondazione Prada in Milan, in summer 2007. Mark’s career and design work is included in the new Costume Design book in the Film Craft series by Deborah Nadoolman Landis. Bridges' design work has appeared in publications as diverse as Australian Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, The New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, Dressing in the Dark by Marion Maneker, and Dressed: 100 Years of Cinema Costume by Deborah Nadoolman Landis.

JONNY GREENWOOD (Music Score) is a member of the acclaimed alternative rock band Radiohead. Greenwood serves mainly as lead guitarist and keyboard player but also plays viola, xylophone, glockenspiel, ondes martenot, banjo, harmonica and drums. He also works on the electronic side of Radiohead, working on computer-generated sounds and sampling. His film score credits include Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” and “There Will Be Blood,” Lynne Ramsay’s “We Need to Talk About Kevin,” and Tran Anh Hung’s “Norwegian Wood.” In addition, he has served as the Composer in Residence for the BBC Concert Orchestra.
 
 
   
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Updated 28-07-24