American and Korean Promotional Materials for New Adventure Film Introduction: Kim Song-ho Source: Relativity Media Official Movie Site: iamrogue.com/thewarriorsway (US), ww2010.co.kr (Korea)

The action/adventure film THE WARRIOR`S WAY opens today in the US. The film was produced by Barrie M. Osborne (of THE LORD OF THE RINGS fame) and written and directed by Korean filmmaker Sngmoo Lee. In Korea, the film has been much anticipated because not only was it a major studio production directed by a Korean, but also the first English-language feature of Jang Dong-gun, who happens to be the superstar of the superstars in his native country. The film opened December 2 in Korea. Set in the American West, this stylish-looking martial arts film is about Yang, a master swordsman. Seeking refuge in a rundown town, Yang is unexpectedly involved a feud between the locals. Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston, and Tony Cox also star. The world premiere and red carpet ceremony for THE WARRIOR`S WAY were held on November 22 in Seoul with Jang, Bosworth and director Lee in attendance. It remains to be seen whether the film is strong enough to match the large amount of hype surrounding it. The following US production notes are courtesy of production company and distributor Relativity Media. Accompanying the article are images, advertising art, and video providing by Relativity and the Korean company SK Telecom. SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details for a new movie.

SYNOPSIS

The world’s greatest swordsman abandons his warrior clan to start a new life in the American Badlands in The Warrior’s Way, a visually dazzling modern martial arts adventure with stunningly choreographed fight sequences and gravity-defying stunts. In an original, gorgeously realized journey into a mythical past, writer and director Sngmoo Lee seamlessly marries the cinematic traditions of East and West. Korean superstar Jang Dong Gun, Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston and Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush star in this epic story of revenge and redemption. After a lifetime of training in martial arts and swordsmanship, Yang (Jang Dong Gun) has eliminated all but one of his clan’s enemies—an infant whose smile instantly melts his heart. Unwilling to kill her and unable protect her from his own deadly tribe, Yang takes the baby girl and flees, planning to seek refuge with an old friend living in Lode, a frontier town in the American West. He arrives to find that his friend has died and the once-thriving Gold Rush town is in shambles, inhabited only by a few dozen eccentrics including Lynne (Kate Bosworth), a beautiful, spirited knife thrower-in-training, and Ron, a worn-out drunk (Geoffrey Rush). In order to make a safe home for the child far from the reach of his murderous clansman, Yang decides to stay on as the town’s new laundryman, sealing his sword for good. Yang unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit in Lynne. Orphaned by a horrifying act of brutality, Lynne has spent ten years plotting revenge against her attacker, the Colonel (Danny Huston). While teaching Yang to run the laundry and look after the baby, she discovers his talent for swordplay and begs him to tutor her in martial arts.

In the midst of Lode’s annual Christmas celebration, the Colonel and his renegade gang return and threaten to destroy the town. Knowing that Lynne will do everything in her power to exact revenge on the Colonel, Yang reluctantly unsheathes his sword, fully aware that the ring of its blade will immediately reveal his location to his own murderous pack. He leads a fierce and ingenious force of townspeople armed only with improvised weapons and a unique set of skills in an all-out battle. But, as he feared, the sound of his sword brings the ruthless attackers into the fray, leading Yang, Lynne, April and the town folk to their ultimate destinies. The Warrior’s Way is written and directed by Sngmoo Lee in his American feature film debut. It stars Jang Dong Gun (Friend, Taegukgi:The Brotherhood of War), Kate Bosworth (21, Superman Returns), Geoffrey Rush (Shine, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl), Danny Huston (The Conspirator, Robin Hood), Tony Cox (Bad Santa, Meet Monica Velour) and Ti Lung (Frozen, Dynasty of Blood). The film is produced by Barrie M. Osborne (the Lord of the Rings franchise), Jooick Lee (Seven Swords) and Michael Peyser (Matilda, Hackers). The director of photography is Woo-hyung Kim (Late Autumn). Production designer is Dan Hennah (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans). Editor is Jonno-Woodford Robinson (King Kong). Costume designer is three-time Academy Award winner James Acheson (The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons and Restoration). Original music is by Javier Navarrete (Pan’s Labyrinth). Executive producers are Tim White (The Boys Are Back, Ned Kelly) and Eui Hong.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

With The Warrior’s Way, writer and director Sngmoo Lee has created a film that reflects his own unique background—a balance of Eastern and Western cultures and cinematic traditions. Raised in Korea and educated at the prestigious New York University film program, Lee easily references a wide range of film genres, from timeless cowboy adventures and martial arts extravaganzas to “spaghetti Westerns” and classic gangster films, when speaking about his English language film debut. First and foremost, says the director, the film is intended to be rousing entertainment. “My goal was to make an extremely cool action movie with some emotion and brain attached to it,” he says. “I always appreciate some sadness in the humor and some intelligence in the action, and vice versa. For me, the heyday of the cinema was the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, when they were making art films that were enjoyable and appealing to the mass audience.” The first to recognize the potential international appeal of The Warrior’s Way was Korean producer Jooick Lee, highly regarded in Asia for his expertise in producing cross-territorial films. “This is not a typical, formulaic film,” says Lee. “It’s unique and fresh, with some never-before-seen elements that are combined in the right way and at the right time to make a really great film.” Producer Lee brought the script to the attention of Barrie M. Osborne, who has produced some of the most unconventional and visually innovative epics in recent memory, including the Lord of the Rings franchise and The Matrix. “I liked the cross-cultural insights of The Warrior’s Way,” he says. “Introducing Asian assassins into the Old West is a novel idea. The movie transports the audience to an imaginative world with a very Asian point of view. It’s a broad, action-packed adventure with a tragic love story at its heart.” In turn, Osborne brought in Michael Peyser, a producer he has known since they were both young filmmakers in New York. “I thought the script was absolutely beautiful,” says Peyser. “It isn’t like any other movie I’ve ever seen. Sngmoo has written some very popular movies in Korea, and he also lived in New York for years. He embodies the Asian tradition and the western tradition brought together.

“The movie is about a hero who undertakes an epic journey and discovers other characters in crisis, which is a tradition of both Asian warrior movies and classic cowboy movies,” he continues. “Sngmoo has brought them together in a way that is incredibly fresh.” The unexpected twists that Lee built into his script elevate the film beyond a traditional action adventure, says Peyser. “It’s an epic warrior story,” he says. “It’s a love story. It’s a story that has great depth and texture. But the best thing about it is that it seems to be headed exactly where a Western or a Samurai movie would normally go and then it doesn’t go there. The characters don’t act the way we expect them to. They act on something deeper, something they’ve just discovered. “For example, the hero’s last assignment was to kill this baby, the sole surviving member of his clan’s adversaries,” continues Peyser. “He makes the decision that determines his future because of a baby’s laugh. That moment is enough to spark the intense and emotional odyssey of the warrior Yang and the baby April. In the process, he falls in love with an American woman, and has to make a choice between being with the love of his life and protecting her.” Geoffrey Rush, who plays the pivotal role of Ron, the seemingly innocuous town boozer, calls The Warrior’s Way “an Asian perspective on the rich history and heritage of the American western.” “The film is like a great fable,” says the Oscar®-winning actor. “It’s so pure. There are so many beautiful and disturbing images as well as enormous storytelling energy to it that is timeless and universal.”

CASTING THE WARRIOR’S WAY

Jang Dong Gun, who plays Yang, the world’s greatest swordsman and the central character in The Warrior’s Way, may not be well known in the United States yet, but he is a bona fide superstar in Asia. Jang starred in Friend, the highest grossing Korean film of all time and has garnered widespread critical acclaim for his work, and has collected an army of admirers along the way. “In Korea, Japan and China he is comparable to Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt,” says Michael Peyser. “We were so lucky he committed to this film. He gave us almost two years of his time to prepare for it.” Jang turned down numerous offers in order to participate in The Warrior’s Way. “Despite his fame and popularity, Jang Dong Gun is a very modest and humble actor,” Jooick Lee says. “He likes a challenge, and he’s very particular when choosing films. Even though he is the one of the most sought-after actors in Asia, he was brave enough not to accept any other projects during the time it took to bring The Warrior’s Way to the screen. He recognized the potential and simply believed in us.” Jang acknowledges that the journey from script to film was lengthy, but ultimately worth the wait. “I really wanted to be a part of this film, so I stayed committed to it,” he says. “I liked the script because it was fresh and challenging. This movie is Western nostalgia and Eastern mystique put together in a way that will satisfy both cultures. I’m very satisfied with what we achieved.”

Producer Lee believes the actor’s gamble will pay off in a big way. “He is going to make a huge breakthrough in Hollywood when this film is released,” says Lee. “He’s so charming and charismatic. It’s only a matter of time before he becomes a star internationally on the same level he is in Asia.” In his first English-language film, Jang plays a man of few words, communicating primarily with his actions. “Jang Dong Gun brings stoicism to the character as well as a range of emotions that allows us to believe his shift from a cold-blooded assassin to this person that falls very much in love,” observes Osborne. “Dong Gun is the cornerstone of this film,” says White. “It’s a challenging role. Yang is a warrior who’s been conditioned not to show emotion, so it could have been difficult for the audience to gain empathy for him, but Dong Gun has such a captivating presence. He’s a very handsome man, with the elegance and discipline of a ballet dancer in the sword fighting sequences.” Jang says his first Western film has been an exciting and fulfilling experience and he credits his talented and dedicated castmates with making the experience unforgettable. “I feel very lucky to have had a chance to work with such wonderful actors,” says Jang. “Even though we had cultural differences, I think the actors understood each other from the heart.”

Kate Bosworth is Jang’s leading lady, playing Lynne, a free-spirited, mercurial carnival knife-thrower who has survived an unthinkable tragedy. “The dynamic between Kate and Dong Gun makes them the most engaging screen couple I’ve seen in a long time,” says Peyser. “They both have really generous spirits, which allowed them to surrender something of their inner selves to each other. That’s a key to chemistry the audience can connect with. Yang is as ill-equipped as Lynne is to deal with these kinds of feelings, so it’s something new to them both. It’s very pure. I think the audience will get swept up in it.” Bosworth’s character is a departure for her. “It was unlike any other script I’d ever read,” she says. “I never really imagined myself playing a knife-throwing, red-haired, crazy cowgirl from the Old West.” Nevertheless, the actress threw herself enthusiastically into the role, says White. “Lynne’s a unique character. After being orphaned at the age of 13 under really traumatic circumstances, she was been raised by these eccentric, dysfunctional carnies. She’s unpredictable with a crazy, willful, erratic energy. Kate was determined that all of her contradictions and complexities show through. She has a real sense of daring as an actress.” Bosworth describes Lynne as a “childlike character who has a lot of love to give. She’s incredibly impulsive and very inappropriate. Yang’s a warrior and he carries a lot of emotional armor. He has never let anyone into his heart. They have a symbiotic relationship in which he calms her heart and she opens him up. That forces Yang to engage, and when he starts to engage and his heart starts to open up, her love for him grows.” The actress says Jang Dong Gun’s soft-spoken working methods perfectly complemented her own more vociferous on-set style. “Dong Gun is kind, generous and thoughtful as a person,” says Bosworth. “I tend to be very outspoken and communicative when it comes to making my opinions heard. He would just be very patient and sit with it for a minute.” Contributing some additional heavyweight acting muscle to the film is Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush, who plays down-on-his luck Ron, a man with a dark secret that lies deep beneath a buffoonish exterior. Barrie Osborne says the production was very fortunate to have Rush in the role. “He’s wonderful actor,” says the producer. “Ron, like Yang, has a hidden back-story that he has to come to terms with. Geoffrey plays it absolutely truthfully. He brought inspirational enthusiasm to the set and he has also been a tremendous advocate for the film.”

Producer Michael Peyser notes that Rush was up for the role of the Colonel. “Geoffrey read it and said, ‘Well, I could play the villain,’” remembers Peyser. “But ever since he was a little boy, he has wanted to play a cowboy. So we were very lucky that we found the 6-year-old in the illustrious Mr. Rush and he agreed to play Ron.” Sngmoo Lee created the character as a projection of what Yang might become. “Ron knows that Yang loves Lynne,” says Lee. “He also knows from experience how the destructive power of violence stays with a man. He thinks that if Yang sticks around, something horrible will happen, so he warns him to leave.” Rush instinctively understood the character’s conflicting motivations. “Ron is one of the many eccentric characters you find in this particular place,” he says. “He is a very interesting, intriguing embroidery around the dimensions this town actually contains. But the real thrill for me as an actor is that halfway through the movie, he undergoes a very surprising transformation. From that point on, it just gets deeper, richer and much more interesting.” The actor sees Ron and Yang as opposite sides of a coin. “Jang Dong Gun brings this absolutely pure stillness to the internal life of this warrior who’s abandoning a life of slaughter to start running a laundry. If there’s one character in Lode who most represents the Western side of things, it’s the erratic, difficult, funny, weird, drunk Ron—and I’m wearing those boots.”

As the colonel, actor Danny Huston brings an impeccable pedigree in the tradition of the American Western cinema. Huston’s father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston, famously collaborated on one of the most beloved Western movies of all time, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Huston’s transformation into a man who embodies evil astonished his co-stars. “It’s hilarious that he plays an incredibly wicked character, because he’s actually one of the nicest, funniest guys you’ll ever meet,” says Bosworth. “Danny always has a smile on his face. He is the life of the party with a great sense of humor. Shooting with him could be difficult because it was hard to imagine him as a really horrible person.” Years earlier, the Colonel attempted to rape the then 12-year-old Lynne. In order to escape his clutches, she threw a pan of boiling oil at his face, disfiguring him permanently. In retribution, he murdered her entire family and left her for dead. When he learns she is still alive, he seizes the opportunity for vengeance. “The Colonel is larger than life and certainly crazed,” says Huston. “He has a rather large ego. At times, he’s a bit of a coward, but he has the Hell Riders who flank him and take on any trouble that comes his way.” Huston gives enormous credit to Jang for steadfastly championing the project. “One of the main reasons this picture got made is that he’s in it, so he’s quite a powerful actor in his own right, but also a delicate, sweet, humble human being. He is also an actor who understands stillness.” The part of Eight-Ball, leader of the small band of townsfolk who shelter Yang, is played by Tony Cox with a bravura attitude that will make audiences forget that he stands 3’ 6” tall. “I don’t see great roles like this very often, especially for actors of my stature,” says Cox. “He is a strong character, number one. He has to be strong for the rest of the people in the carnie gang. He has to be a leader. You really don’t get that Eight-Ball’s a little person.” Because the townsfolk stood by in fear and watched as the Colonel slaughtered Lynne’s family, Eight-Ball has spent the last 12 years trying to make it up to her. “He’s like a father figure to Lynne,” says Cox. “She has been through a lot and he knows that. He feels that he could have done something to help her, but he didn’t, so now he feels responsible for her.” Cox is as enthusiastic as any fan about the film’s extraordinary action sequences. It was his first chance to show off years of martial arts training in a film. “I have a black belt, but I’ve never been in a movie like this before,” he says. “I was like a little kid in a candy store. There’s so much action. We had to be so precise in what we were doing and how we were doing it.”

Another well-known star of Asian cinema was brought in to play Saddest Flute, Yang’s former mentor and the leader of the Sad Flutes, the clan that has now turned against him. Ti Lung, an esteemed Chinese actor brings a gravitas to the role that was earned in scores of films and a career that spans more than four decades. “The relationship between Saddest Flute and Yang is like a teacher with his protégé, or a father and son,” the actor says. “It’s complicated by the fact that Saddest Flute can never show emotion. But in the film, we can tell by the way they look at each other that they’re very close. He treats Yang like his own blood.” Like a father who believes the only way to help a son succeed is to harden him against the unforgiving demands of the world, Saddest Flute requires a great deal of Yang. “He can be very, very harsh,” says Ti Lung. “Saddest Flute has put him through the most demanding, difficult training imaginable to give him the best foundation for martial arts. He knows that in their line of work, only the fittest survive. If you are not strong enough to protect yourself, you can’t help anyone else.” For a first-time director, having such an accomplished cast was a blessing, says Sngmoo Lee. “Geoffrey, Danny, Dong Gun, Kate and the rest of the cast were a very important part of the creative process on this film,” he says. “Everyone was supportive and extremely committed. What more could I ask for?”

A SAMURAI SWORDSMAN IN THE AMERICAN WEST

In The Warrior’s Way’s vividly imagined world, every sunset and sunrise infuses the air with crimson and the night sky floods the landscape with cobalt blue light. It is a world where an army of trained assassins can instantly emerge from a lotus pond and a half-finished Ferris wheel dominates the landscape. Shot almost entirely on studio sets, The Warrior’s Way brings together a kaleidoscope of color, visual effects, evocative costumes, vivid make-up and stylized action to create a dreamlike setting that is not entirely East or West.

To realize his ambitious vision, director Sngmoo Lee put together an impressive production team including Academy Award-winning production designer Dan Hennah. Hennah embraced the opportunity to create a unique, fantastical universe for The Warrior’s Way. “When I first read the script, I could see the mix of Asian elements and cowboy traditions,” he says. “The derelict town with that great image of the half-built Ferris wheel and the carnival lent itself to all sorts of Fellini-esque elements I don’t normally get a chance to explore. Then when I met Sngmoo, he talked about wanting an anime feel, which gave us yet another design element to incorporate.” Visual effects supervisor Jason Piccioni also worked with Lee from the earliest stages of pre-production through the completion of the film. “Sngmoo is a teacher at his core,” says Piccioni. “He approaches directing as if he were an orchestra conductor. He was very clear about the movie he wanted to make, but he was always open to suggestions. It was great to be involved from the very beginning and it was certainly the most influence I’ve ever had at that stage of filming.” Piccioni describes the world of the film as like living in a storybook. “When I read the script, it swept me away into this gorgeous imaginary world that I couldn’t wait to see,” he says. “You’re still clearly in the real world, but things are just a little bit off-kilter. It’s always magic hour, that special time at dawn or dusk when the natural light is at its most beautiful.” Hennah and Piccioni were joined by a team of top creative professionals including director of photography Woo-hyung Kim, concept artist Brendan Heffernan, who drew the initial style pre-visualizations, supervising art director Phil Ivey, costume designer James Acheson (an Oscar winner for The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons and Restoration), and make-up and hair designer Jane O’Kane. Originally, the filmmakers planned to shoot the film in the Southwestern United States, where the story is set, but it quickly became apparent that achieving the imaginative, fairytale-like setting indicated in the script would be impossible to do on location. “The town in The Warrior’s Way is in the middle of nowhere in the desert,” says director of photography Woo-hyung Kim. “The real towns we scouted had greenery and mountains nearby and that’s something we didn’t want to have in our background.” The producers decided that best place to realize their plan would be New Zealand. “New Zealand is the only place we could have made this movie,” says Peyser. “It takes place in a mythical Asia and a mythical American West. Those places aren’t real. They’re part of movie culture and New Zealand is the new capital of imagination. The extraordinary creative professionals there can take a piece of this and a piece of that and put it together to create something totally new and wonderful. The ingenuity and the ‘we can do it’ quality of New Zealand film crews make them the world’s experts at fantasy.”

In order to fulfill Lee’s extraordinary vision, the filmmakers decided to build partial sets and use green screen techniques for set extension and scenic backgrounds. “When Barrie Osborne and I talked about how to achieve the world we envisioned, it seemed much smarter to design sets that would allow us to add the environment,” says Hennah. “It would allow us to achieve the anime look without the added complication of a real distant landscape.” Creating a seamless world using both the physical world of the sets and the digital world of CGI involved broad-ranging and ongoing collaboration between visual effects and all the production’s other creative and technical departments. According to Piccioni, approximately 1,500 visual effects shots were used in the film. “But the effects are a tool used to tell the story, not an end in themselves,” he says. “This is neither a traditional film where we built all the sets and shot, nor is it a film in which we just threw up green screens and designed everything virtually. We were somewhere in the middle and it took several weeks of planning to figure out where that middle ground should be.” Supervising art director Phil Ivey led the art department in building 45 sets in six studio spaces on a tightly scheduled rotation to accommodate two units shooting over a 12-week period. “In terms of visuals, the script was a goldmine for us,” Ivey says. “We drew on the ghost towns from the post-Gold Rush era in the southern and western States.” Creating an environment that reflected Yang’s emotional state was key to guiding the audience through his journey. “Yang shows very little emotion, especially in the beginning of the film,” says Piccioni. “We needed a way to help the audience connect with him. We used the palette of the film to convey his mood visually. For example, when he first arrives in Lode, the colors are harsh, angst-ridden reds and oranges. As Yang begins to settle into the town, we introduce more greens and blues. Then, when the Hell Riders attack the town, we close in the environment with grey storm clouds.” Director of photography Woo Hyung Kim says further character clues can be found in the lighting. “Yang is always lighted differently from the other characters to set him apart,” he says. “Although he is in the Western town with other characters, we tried create subtle differences in the light to make him look as if he’s there, but he’s not there.”

Hennah also worked closely with the stunt coordinators to create sets that could accommodate the battle scenes. “The action was a major consideration,” he says. “It was a case of function dictating form. With so much choreographed fighting, the sets needed to be a lot more expansive than they might normally be. For example, a Chinese laundry in a Gold Rush town would be quite a small space in reality. Because there is a small army fighting in there, I had to make sense of a laundry that’s almost as big as the town hall. There’s a huge fight sequence in a hotel room, so we made it the presidential suite. We imagined that when this town was pumping, there were 70,000 people living there and the gold was just pouring in, so there was every possibility that the president might turn up.” For stunt coordinator Augie Davis, being asked to collaborate with production design and visual effects added an exciting new dimension to his work. “My thoughts are in the real world when I design a fight or an action sequence,” says Davis. “In this case, that didn’t always work in exactly the right way for this script. The effects guys had some very cool ideas and we were able to plan each scene in tandem. For example, Yang comes in and cuts a guy in half down the middle. Now that’s plainly impossible to do in the real world, so we had to work it out together.” Davis also had input into the set-design process, and made an unusual request. He asked that certain sets be made of hard surfaces to give his stunt team a sense of reality for their hits and falls. In the laundry, for example, the benches and tubs are made of concrete. “It’s not always necessary to soften a set-up to make an action sequence work,” he says. “In the laundry, we asked for a very hard set because the rest of the town is full of sand, which is soft. Whenever we came inside, we wanted to be able to interact with hard environments. People are hitting their heads on wringers and tubs, rolling down stairs, going through ceilings. We even used teak instead of balsa because it’s harder and gives more impact.” Davis says the underlying philosophy of Yang’s fighting style is his efficiency. “It’s one strike, one kill,” he says. “Yang doesn’t hack anybody to death. He just cuts them very cleanly in two. It’s very simple and almost elegant, based on Samurai, but also drawing from other Asian traditions.”

Key to the success of the fight sequences was secret weapon Yuji Shimomura, a Japanese Sword Master. “We wanted to incorporate a unique sword style,” says producer Barrie M. Osborne, “and our stunt coordinator felt we should find someone from Asia. With the help of Jooick and Nansun Shi, we found Yuji, who achieved the singular style in our film through extensive training of our cast and assisting Augie in choreographing the sword fights.” Jang Dong Gun came to the set with extensive experience in action movies, which Davis says was invaluable. “Dong Gun arrived with a full range of skills. We didn’t need to teach him a lot. He’s very physical, very fit and he has great posture. He’s also quite calm and he listens well. We were so very fortunate to work with him.” All the actors, no matter their skill level coming in, threw themselves totally into the stunts and action sequences, recalls Davis. “Kate Bosworth is energetic, coordinated, tough and she’s not afraid. She would just put on some extra pads and throw herself around. When we all watched a rough cut of the saloon fight, people commented on what good work the stunt double did. In fact, it was Kate and she was wonderful. “Geoffrey Rush was put through the wringer,” Davis continues. “We put him on the flying fox cable, he jumped off the Ferris wheel, he was dragged along the ground and bullwhipped. He’s a man who’s willing to do whatever it takes to make his character totally convincing. You’d think after winning an Oscar he’d be immune to that sort of treatment, but Ron is a tough guy, and Geoffrey was willing to be treated like one.” Performing much of his own stunt work was an important part of the acting challenge for Huston. “I feel more confident as an actor if the images that are being used are mine and not interpreted by a stunt man,” he says. “You get the odd bruise here and there, so you feel like you’ve actually had an honest day’s work. We trained hard for the fight scenes and got it down to a fine dance. Still, you depend greatly on the stuntman to double you, especially in the moments when the action is amped up a bit. They make you look great.”

Creating the costumes for The Warrior’s Way was the kind of challenge that costume designer James Acheson revels in. “It was an unprecedented combination of East and West for me,” he says. “We had everything from Asian assassins to babies to cowboys, and they all needed to have the poetic quality the script demanded. It was a remarkable, delicious thing for any costumer to take on.” Bosworth asked for and got the opportunity to have considerable input into her character’s look. “She’s kind of a tomboy, so we put her in men’s clothing,” she says. “I wore shoes that were five or six sizes too big, which gave her a real clomping, childlike walk that was essential to the character.” Lynne undergoes a transformation in the film that is reflected in her wardrobe. “She goes from being a rather grubby tomboy to suddenly realizing that this Asian warrior might just be worth knowing,” says Acheson. “Her costumes reflect that gradual awakening. She starts off in grubby brown buckskin and moves through rusts to pale pinks and pale greens until by the time we get to Christmas, she’s scrubbed up very well.” Acheson created a powerful signifier of the Colonel’s malevolence with the leather mask that conceals his disfigurement. “During the film, Danny Huston makes the jump from being a young villain to a damaged and bitter villain,” the designer says. “He spent eight solid hours over one weekend trying on two masks and worked with us to subtly change the lines and textures and colors and shapes. That kind of commitment is remarkable.” Acheson worked with leatherworker Matt Morris to make the mask. “We needed to make it out of something that was malleable,” he says. “We chose leather that was molded in pieces onto a cast of his face. Because it’s leather, the mask itself sweats and glistens, which gives it an eerie kind of life.”

The mask also helped Huston develop signature tics and mannerisms for the Colonel. “The limitations the mask imposed on me as an actor actually helped create the character,” he says. “The masked side of the face was actually quite tranquil, but it distorted the visible side of my face to great effect. It also defined the way the character moves. There was this wonderful little Samurai slit for me to look through, but I didn’t have much peripheral vision. Because most of my vision came from the exposed side, it forced me to move my head in a distinctive way.” The horrific scar that is exposed late in the film is one of the many effects created by make-up supervisor Jane O’Kane and her team. They also were asked to aid Yang’s transition from the stylized anime look in the film’s outset to a more naturalistic style in Lode. Bosworth got involved with that aspect of her character’s look as well. “It was such an enjoyable collaboration,” she says. “In my first conversation with Sngmoo, I said ‘she’s got to be a redhead.’ She’s this fiery, passionate, crazy, lovable human being and the vision of wild sunsets behind her reflecting that just cried out for her to be a rich redhead. Later, Jane O’Kane called me and said, ‘I don’t want to scare you, but what do you think about red?’ and I said, ‘Oh, you read my mind.’ We were on the same page from day one.” According to production designer Dan Hennah, the extraordinary collaborative effort between Sngmoo and the rest of the creative team resulted in the creation of a unique visual language. From classical and contemporary mythology to Japanese anime, Asian martial arts and the cowboy ethos of the Old West, Sngmoo Lee’s rich array of influences challenged them to create some of the most original and exciting work in their careers. “Sngmoo is a very intelligent man with a very logical brain that’s fueled by crazy, left-of-field ideas,” says Hennah. “Because of the passion and imagination he brought to the table, there’s nothing ordinary about this film. I’m proud to say that every part of it goes the extra mile creatively.”

ABOUT THE CAST

JANG DONG GUN (Yang) has starred in two of the highest-grossing box office hits in the history of South Korea. The first, Friend, earned Jang widespread critical kudos for his portrayal of a troubled high school kid who turns to a life of organized crime. Jang took home the Best Supporting Actor award at the 2000 Asia Pacific Film Festival for the role. The second of Jang’s seminal hits came in 2004 with Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, a groundbreaking Korean epic that found him portraying one of two brothers drafted into military service. Jang’s powerful performance landed him the coveted Best Actor prize at that year’s Blue Dragon Awards. Having conquered his native land, Jang next set his sights on other parts of Asia, breaking into Chinese cinema in a big way with a lead role in the 2005 martial arts-romance The Promise. The $30 million, Golden Globe-nominated production, directed by the Golden Palm-winning filmmaker Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) required the actor to deliver all of his lines in perfect Mandarin. Jang also starred that same year in Typhoon as a modern-day pirate betrayed by both North and South Korea. With his dashing good looks, screen charisma and athletic build, the Seoul-born star quickly emerged as a teen idol after making his acting debut in the 1993 Korean TV drama series Our Heaven. By the late 1990s, Jang was one of the most popular film personalities on Asian soil, his fan base and appeal extending far beyond South Korea’s borders. It led to his starring in such well-regarded features as The Anarchists in 2000 before making his breakthrough in Friend. That was followed in 2002 by the action blockbuster 2009 Lost Memories—which required him to speak Japanese—and that same year, by the low-budget The Coast Guard for controversial director Kim Ki-Duk (The Isle). Jang recently provided Korean narration for the documentary feature Earth, which was released by Disney in the U.S. The Warrior’s Way marks his U.S. film debut.

KATE BOSWORTH (Lynne) has made the seamless transition from young Hollywood starlet to one of today’s leading ladies. She recently starred in Robert Luketic’s Vegas cards caper 21 and played the iconic Lois Lane in the comic book blockbuster Superman Returns, for director Bryan Singer. She was also seen starring opposite Sigourney Weaver in David Auburn’s drama The Girl in the Park. Previously, Bosworth graced the screen in Kevin Spacey’s Beyond the Sea, portraying the ultimate golden girl, Sandra Dee, opposite Spacey as Bobby Darin. Receiving rave reviews from critics, Bosworth got Dee’s own seal of approval for her portrayal of the screen icon. Most recognized for her strong-willed performance in John Stockwell’s hugely successful Blue Crush, Bosworth landed her first lead role after dedicating herself to a crash course in surfing. Contradicting that blonde surfer-girl image and showcasing her multidimensional range, Bosworth’s next project, the dark indie biopic Wonderland, had her portraying the real-life girlfriend of the late porn star John Holmes, played by Val Kilmer. With this determination not to be typecast, it is no surprise that Bosworth tackled another genre in her next film, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Robert Luketic’s romantic comedy in which she starred opposite Topher Grace and Josh Duhamel. Critics hailed Bosworth as America’s next sweetheart for her performance as a small town girl caught in a love triangle. Bosworth also made a cameo appearance in Bee Season as a Hari Krishna convert opposite Max Minghella, Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche. Though she made her feature film debut in Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer at the age of 14, Bosworth made the decision early on to make her education a priority and chose parts that would accommodate her school schedule. While still in high school, she starred in the WB’s hit summer series “Young Americans” and took a role in Jerry Bruckheimer’s Remember the Titans. After graduation, Bosworth starred in Roger Avary’s Rules of Attraction. Born in California but raised in New England, Bosworth has become bicoastal over the last few years. GEOFFREY RUSH (Ron) is one of Australia’s most respected actors and an Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winner. His career has spanned over 70 theatrical productions and more than 20 feature films. Rush`s upcoming projects include The King`s Speech, in which he stars and serves as executive producer. After earning a degree in English from the University of Queensland, Rush traveled to Paris in 1975 to study at the Jaques Lecoq School of Mime, Movement and Theatre. He was a principal member of Jim Sharman’s pioneering Lighthouse ensemble in the early 1980s, where he played leading roles in numerous classic productions. In 1989, Rush’s lead performance in Neil Armfield’s production of “The Diary of a Madman” earned him the Sydney Critics Circle Award for Most Outstanding Performance, the Variety Club Award and the Victorian Green Room Award. This highly acclaimed production toured Moscow and St. Petersburg before a triumphant return season at the Adelaide Festival.

Also for the stage, Rush played starring roles in Gogol’s “The Government Inspector,” Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and Mamet’s “Oleanna,” in which he co-starred with Cate Blanchett. In 1993, Rush received the prestigious Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award for his work in the theater. Rush’s Australian film credits include Candy, Lantana, Swimming Upstream, Harvey Krumpet, Ned Kelly, On Our Selection and Children of the Revolution. For his role as pianist David Helfgott in Shine, he won a host of Best Actor honors including an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a SAG Award, an Australian Film Institute Award, New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Awards, a Broadcast Film Critics Award and a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award. For his performance as Henslowe in Shakespeare in Love, Rush received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor and won a BAFTA. For his role as Walsingham in Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth, he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Rush was also nominated for a Golden Globe, SAG Award and Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as the Marquis de Sade in Philip Kaufman’s Quills. He was the voice of Nigel in the hugely successful animated feature Finding Nemo and played the swashbuckling Barbossa in Jerry Bruckheimer’s Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, directed by Gore Verbinski. These blockbuster films have set box office records internationally. Other film credits include Les Misérables, Mystery Men, House on Haunted Hill, The Tailor of Panama, The Banger Sisters, Frida, Intolerable Cruelty, Munich and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. On the small screen, Rush’s performance in the title role of the HBO biopic “The Life and Death of Peter Sellers” earned him a SAG Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy®. Returning to the stage in 2007, Rush played the lead in Ionesco’s “Exit the King” at The Malthouse in Melbourne and the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney. He co-translated this play with long-term theatrical collaborator and director Neil Armfield. Award-winning actor DANNY HUSTON (Colonel), best known for his versatility and dramatic screen presence, has followed in his family’s footsteps by cultivating a storied career both in front of and behind the camera. Huston’s first lead performance was in Bernard Rose’s independent film Ivansxtc based on Leo Tolstoy`s The Death of Ivan Ilyich. His portrayal as Hollywood talent agent Ivan Beckman earned him a nomination for Best Male Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards in 2003.

In 2010, Huston starred in two Warner Bros. films: Martin Campbell’s thriller Edge of Darkness, alongside Mel Gibson, and Louis Leterrier’s take on the classic Clash of the Titans, opposite Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson. Subsequently, Huston starred in Barry Levinson’s Emmy-nominated “You Don’t Know Jack,” an HBO biopic based on the life of Jack Kevorkian. Huston takes on the role of Geoffrey Feiger, Kevorkian’s lawyer opposite Al Pacino as Kevorkian. In addition, Huston starred in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood for Universal, as Richard “The Lion Heart” to Russell Crowe’s Robin Hood and Cate Blanchett’s Maid Marion. Huston also stars in Robert Redford’s upcoming ensemble The Conspirator, based on the true story of the lone female (Robin Wright Penn) charged and convicted as a co-conspirator in the assassination of President Lincoln. Huston portrays prosecuting attorney General Advocate Joseph Holt, opposite James McAvoy. In addition, Huston stars as legendary Israeli basketball coach Max Stoller in Evan Riklis’ Playoff, a film inspired by the life of Israel’s most famous basketball coach, Ralph Klein. Huston’s notable performances include Martin Scorsese’s ensemble The Aviator, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, for which the ensemble cast was nominated for a 2004 SAG Award, and Jonathan Glazer’s Birth, opposite Nicole Kidman. In 2006, Huston received the Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Sandy Woodrow in Fernando Meirelles’ The Constant Gardener. That same year, Huston starred alongside Guy Pearce, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Emily Watson in the critically acclaimed Australian western The Proposition, directed by John Hillcoat. Huston’s additional film credits include: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s 21 Grams, John Sayles’ Silver City, Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men, Oliver Parker’s Fade to Black, Joel Schumacher’s The Number 23, Peter Berg’s The Kingdom, David Slade’s 30 Days of Night, Robert Weide’s How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, and the award-winning HBO miniseries “John Adams” directed by Tom Hooper. Huston has collaborated numerous of times with British director Mike Figgis in Leaving Las Vegas, Time Code and Hotel and with British director Bernard Rose in Ivansxtc, Anna Karenina and The Kreutzer Sonata. Last summer, he starred in the FOX blockbuster X-Men franchise as villainous army colonel William Stryker in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Huston was born in Rome and raised in Ireland and London. He currently lives in Los Angeles. TONY COX (Eight-Ball) has built a thriving career spanning some 30 years, working with some of the most respected directors and most distinguished actors of our time. His recent feature film credits include the comedy features Date Movie, with Alyson Hannigan, Eddie Griffin and Jennifer Coolidge, and Epic Movie, with Kal Penn and Fred Willard, both by writer/directors Jason Friedman and Aaron Seltzer. Cox is also well known for playing the lead role of Marcus, Billy Bob Thornton’s abusive partner in crime, in Terry Zwigoff’s twisted comedy classic Bad Santa. Other film credits include Me, Myself & Irene, with Renée Zellweger and Jim Carrey, and Friday, with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. Cox has also starred in Willow, Spaceballs, Beetlejuice and Return of the Jedi.

On the small screen, Cox played the role of Uncle Goldey in NBC’s football-themed sitcom “Dante,” from “Modern Family” producer Steven Levitan. Other notable TV appearances include “Frasier,” “The Jamie Foxx Show” and “Rescue Me,” among many others. Cox currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Otelia and daughter Miyoshi Yukita. TI LUNG (Saddest Flute) has a reputation for being very serious about his craft and is one of the most respected actors working in Hong Kong today. He received the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 2000 Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in 1999’s The Kid, starring Leslie Cheung and directed by Jacob Cheung Chi-Leung. Ti has been married to wife To Man-Ming for many years and their son Shaun Tam Jun-Yin is beginning his own acting career in Taiwan. Ti was born in 1946 in Hong Kong and began studying Wing Chun under Master Chu Wan. In 1969, at the age of 23, he appeared with Jimmy Wang Yu in Chang Cheh’s Return of the One-Armed Swordsman for Shaw Bros. Studios. The studio saw potential in the earnest young man and trained him in the arts of swordplay, acting and horseback riding. The investment paid off, as Ti’s relationship with Shaw Bros. remained fruitful for many years to come. Ti went on to become one of the studio’s top kung fu stars alongside frequent co-star David Chiang in many of Chang Cheh’s epic films, including Blood Brothers and Five Masters of Death. After the demise of Shaw Studios, Ti made a few films in Taiwan and then returned to Hong Kong in the ‘80s with a role in John Woo’s classic A Better Tomorrow.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

SNGMOO LEE (Writer, Director) is a respected figure in the Korean entertainment world, having won three major screenplay awards in his native country. He has penned a dozen feature screenplays and written and directed numerous short films. The independent feature film Sunday Seoul, which he wrote and produced, received a special jury mention at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival. After graduating from New York University’s film program in 1995 with both an M.A. and M.F.A. in cinema studies and film production, Lee became a founding member of the film department at the Korean National University of Art, where he continues to teach. Lee is the writer and director of the Korea-Japan co-production Assassin, currently in pre-production. BARRIE M. OSBORNE (Producer) produced The Water Horse and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. For the latter film, Osborne won many awards, including the 2004 Academy Award and the British Academy of Film and Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Picture. In addition to his work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Osborne executive produced a worldwide box-office blockbuster and groundbreaking special effects award winner, The Matrix. Osborne’s other producing credits include John Woo’s Face/Off and China Moon. He has served as executive producer on The World’s Fastest Indian, Little Fish, The Fan, Dick Tracy, Child’s Play, Wilder Napalm, Rapa Nui and Peggy Sue Got Married. During a two-year tenure as vice president of feature production at Walt Disney Pictures, Osborne oversaw such notable films as Ruthless People, The Color of Money, Tin Men, Three Men and a Baby, Tough Guys, Outrageous Fortune, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Good Morning, Vietnam.

A native New Yorker, Osborne earned a B.A. degree from Minnesota’s Carleton College. Osborne attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before entering the film industry in 1970. Accepted into the Directors Guild of America trainee program, Osborne worked under the tutelage of such directors as Francis Ford Coppola, Alan J. Pakula and Sydney Pollack on films including The Godfather: Part II, Three Days of the Condor and All the President’s Men. Osborne subsequently worked on a number of films in various capacities, including Apocalypse Now, The Big Chill, King of Comedy, The Cotton Club, Cutter’s Way, Fandango and The China Syndrome. JOOICK LEE (Producer) is CEO of Korea-based Boram Entertainment, the film production and artist management agency founded in 2003. Lee recently produced The Battle of Wits, a co-production of China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea starring Andy Lau and Ahn Sung-Gi, directed by Jacob Cheung. He also produced Seven Swords, a co-production of China and Hong Kong directed by Tsui Hark Lee, which was the opening night film at the 2005 Venice International Film Festival. For the Korean domestic market, Lee produced The First Love of a Millionaire, directed by the acclaimed Korean filmmaker Tae-kyun Kim (2004’s Romance of Their Own and Volcano High, 2001), and starring one of the hottest actors in Korea, Hyun Bin. Lee also produced Two Guys (2004), directed by Hun-soo Park. He executive produced such films as A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, directed by Wayne Wang, and Big Show, a co-production of the U.S. and Japan. Using his competence in English, Korean, Japanese and Mandarin, Lee began his career as a print journalist working throughout Asia. He has served as a creative consultant to many of Asia’s largest companies, such as Samsung, Kolon, Hanhwa, Dentsu, Nikkei and JVC. MICHAEL PEYSER (Producer) is an accomplished producer of both major studio movies and cutting-edge independent films. He has spent his career mastering the challenges of the film industry both as a producer and a studio executive. Peyser executive produced the groundbreaking U2 3D, the first stereoscopic live action 3-D film. It was the sensation of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and made its world premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival before receiving worldwide distribution in digital IMAX and 3 D. Among his extensive credits, Peyser has produced a wide range of commercially and critically successful films including Ruthless People, with Bette Midler and Danny DeVito; Big Business, with Midler and Lily Tomlin; and the children’s classic Matilda, directed by Danny DeVito. He also produced the comedies The Distinguished Gentleman, starring Eddie Murphy; Camp Nowhere, with Christopher Lloyd; and The Night We Never Met, with Matthew Broderick and Annabella Sciorra. He was the executive producer of Desperately Seeking Susan and producer of Hackers, hip, edgy thrillers that featured breakthrough performances by Madonna and Angelina Jolie respectively.

Peyser launched the cult classic comedy Haiku Tunnel, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was snapped up for distribution. Also making its debut at Sundance was the indie hit SLC Punk! He also produced Imagining Argentina, starring Antonio Banderas and Emma Thompson under the direction of renowned British filmmaker Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, The Quiet American). For many years, Peyser worked with Woody Allen, first as a production supervisor on Manhattan, then as production manager on Stardust Memories before becoming associate producer on acclaimed Allen films such as The Purple Rose of Cairo, Broadway Danny Rose, Zelig and A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy. Early in his career, Peyser worked on Milos Forman’s musical Hair and the classic thriller Marathon Man. Also a motion picture executive, Peyser was the founding senior vice president of Disney-based Hollywood Pictures. There, he supervised creative development, production and a broad release schedule for an extensive slate of films. For Orion Pictures, Peyser was executive in charge of production on the huge hit comedy Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Sir John Gielgud in an Oscar-winning performance. A New York native who now makes his home in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters, Peyser enjoys the challenges and camaraderie of filmmaking and embraces all aspects of managing this creative endeavor. He is also a professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. TIM WHITE (Executive Producer) is one of the most experienced producers working in Australia and New Zealand. His credits include Malcolm, winner of the 1986 Best Film award of the Australian Film Institute (AFI); Spotswood, starring Anthony Hopkins and Russell Crowe; Angel Baby, the AFI’s Best Film of 1995; Death in Brunswick, starring Sam Neill; Cosi, starring Toni Collette; Vincent Ward’s Map of the Human Heart; and Gillian Armstrong’s Oscar and Lucinda, starring Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett.

In 1997, White became chief executive at Fox Icon, a joint venture between Twentieth Century Fox and Mel Gibson’s production company, Icon Entertainment. During this period, he executive produced Gregor Jordan’s Two Hands, which starred Heath Ledger and was named AFI’s Best Film of 1999. Next, White headed up Working Title Films: Australia. Under this banner, he executive produced Gregor Jordan’s Ned Kelly, starring Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom and Naomi Watts. In 2005, White produced Toa Fraser’s No. 2, starring Ruby Dee. The film won the World Cinema Audience Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He followed this with Robert Sarkies’ Out of the Blue and Scott Hicks’ Australian-U.K. co-production, The Boys are Back, starring Clive Owen. WOO HYUNG KIM (Director of Photography) is an award-winning cinematographer from Korea who studied at the London Film School and has shot many major Korean movies. He won the award for best cinematography at the 2005 Milan International Film Festival for his work on the mystery thriller Eolguleobtneun minyeo (a.k.a. Faceless Beauty, a.k.a. Hypnotized) and the best cinematography prize at the Stockholm Film Festival for the 2003 drama Baramnan gajok (a.k.a. A Good Lawyer’s Wife). His other films include Geu nom moksori (a.k.a. Voice of a Murderer), Orae-doen jeongwon (a.k.a. The Old Garden) and Geuddae geusaramdeul (a.k.a. The President’s Last Bang). DAN HENNAH (Production Designer) is an Academy Award winner who originally trained in architecture and made the transition to the film industry in the 1980s. The New Zealander won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He was nominated for the same award for his work on the first two Lord of the Rings movies as well as for another Peter Jackson film, King Kong. Hennah’s other feature credits as art director include The Water Horse, The Frighteners, Savage Islands, The Rescue and The Rainbow Warrior. He served as production designer on Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. JONNO WOODFORD-ROBINSON (Editor) has been editing feature-length and short film as well as TV in his native New Zealand for over a decade. He teamed with director Jason Stutter on the recent Predicament and on Tongan Ninja, both of which starred Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”). Woodford-Robinson twice worked with director Peter Jackson on global blockbusters: once as an assistant editor on Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and again as an additional editor on King Kong. Other features include Taiki Waititi’s Eagle vs Shark, Vilsoni Hereniko’s Pear ta ma ‘on maf, Stephen Hickey’s Hopeless and Larry Parr’s Fracture, for which Woodford-Robinson was nominated for an Editing Award and the NZ Screen Awards.

JAMES ACHESON (Costume Designer) is a three-time Academy Award winner (Restoration, Dangerous Liaisons, The Last Emperor) who most recently designed costumes for Spiderman 3, following up on his work for the original Spiderman and Spiderman 2. His extensive career includes such films as Daredevil, The Man in the Iron Mask, Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights and The Sheltering Sky. For Little Buddha and The Wind in the Willows, he was both costume designer and production designer. Originally from England, Acheson’s early work includes costume design for the offbeat cult favorites Brazil, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Time Bandits and early episodes of the British television classic “Doctor Who.” JASON PICCIONI (VFX Supervisor) is an independent visual effects supervisor who recently established Critical Films + FX with producer Arnon Manor. The company provides visual effects management and supervision, as well as the development of original content. In the early 1990s, Piccioni began his visual effects career at Dream Quest Images, participating in the company’s transition into the digital realm by assisting in the conversion of optical printers into some of the first film scanners. He spent the next 10 years at Cinesite Hollywood and Warner Bros. Animation, working as a visual effects artist and supervisor on such films as Erin Brockovich, Thirteen Days and X-Men 2. Piccioni is now an established visual effects supervisor, working with production companies such as Broken Lizard and the Polish brothers amongst others. His recent feature credits include The Dukes of Hazzard, The Lake House, The Astronaut Farmer, Beerfest and Invasion.

JAVIER NAVARRETE (Composer) has scored more than 30 European films. Hailing from Barcelona, Spain, Navarrete emerged internationally with his haunting score to the multiple Oscar-winning film Pan’s Labyrinth, which in 2007 earned him nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award®, a Goya Award and an Online Film Critics Award, as well as an Ariel Award win. This marked his second successful collaboration with filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, the first being The Devil’s Backbone. Following that success, Navarrete scored in quick succession Jean-Jacques Annaud’s His Majesty Minor, starring Vincent Cassel; Fireflies in the Garden, starring Julia Roberts, Willem Dafoe, Ryan Reynolds and Emily Watson; Iain Softley’s Inkheart, starring Brendan Frasier, Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany; and Alexandre Aja’s Mirrors, starring Kiefer Sutherland. AUGIE DAVIS (Stunt Coordinator) is a New Zealander of Fijian origin who served as stunt coordinator for The Water Horse and Without a Paddle, assistant stunt coordinator for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and stunt performer on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, 30 Days of Night, Bridge to Terabithia, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid and the first two chapters of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Davis counts among his credits as stunt coordinator several New Zealand films including River Queen, Out of the Blue and the popular black comedy Black Sheep. YUJI SHIMOMURA (Fight Choreographer) is a Japanese stunt director, stunt coordinator, stunt performer and action director whose film credits include Dao huo xian (a.k.a. City Without Mercy), Moon Child, Ritana, Shinobi, Heart under Blade, Demento (a.k.a. Haunting Ground), Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening and Onimusha: Demon Siege.