Crew
Directed by Bob Odenkirk
Writen by Ben Garant
Thomas Lennon
Michael Patrick Jann
Book "You Are Going to Prison" by Jim Hogshire
Produced by
Marc Abraham .... producer
Matt Berenson .... producer
Armyan Bernstein .... executive producer
Marcy Carsey .... executive producer
Debra Grieco .... executive producer
Caryn Mandabach .... executive producer
Tom Werner .... executive producer
Paul Young .... producer
Original Music by Alan Elliott
Cinematography by
Ramsey Nickell (director of photography)
Film Editing by
Eric L. Beason
Dennis Thorlaksen
Casting by
Richard Hicks
Mickie Paskal
David Rubin
Jennifer Rudnicke

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

BOB ODENKIRK (Directed by): was co-star of the cult comedy series Mr. Show With Bob and David and The Ben Stiller Show. He has directed the feature Melvin Goes to Dinner and the short film Derek & Simon: The Pity Card.

ROBERT BEN GARANT (Written by): was born in Cookeville, Tennessee. He spent the early ’90s appearing in off-off-Broadway theaters (bars) in New York City with the comedy group The State. The State then had a three-season run on MTV, which led to a 44-minute run on CBS. He then created, wrote, produced and occasionally appeared in three seasons of Viva Variety on Comedy Central.

Since relocating to Los Angeles, he and his partner, Thomas Lennon, have written feature films for Disney, Spyglass, Imagine, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Columbia, Paramount, New Line, Dimension and Universal Pictures. Currently, he is editing his second feature film, Balls of Fury, for Universal Pictures and Spyglass and finishing up his directorial debut, RENO 911!: Miami, for Fox and Paramount.

In his spare time, he writes, directs, executive produces and stars in RENO 911!– Comedy Central’s second-or third-biggest show. He lives in Glendale.

THOMAS LENNON (Written by): Originally from Chicago, he began his career as a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts’ experimental theater wing. It was here that he co-founded the sketch-comedy troupe The State. The group went on to critical success with their self-titled hit series on MTV, where he was one of its stars, producers and writers. The State was nominated for a 1995 CableACE Award for Best Comedy Series and ran for three seasons.

Lennon then created, produced and starred in Comedy Central’s Viva Variety, which was an instant critical smash for the new network. The show garnered a CableACE nomination for Best Comedy Series in 1997 and, like The State, enjoyed three successful seasons. Lennon has appeared in the films Memento, Out Cold, Le Divorce, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, A Guy Thing, The Godfather of Green Bay and Heights.

Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have also written the scripts for Taxi, Herbie Fully Loaded, The Pacifier, Night at the Museum, RENO 911!: Miami and Balls of Fury.

Lennon currently resides in Los Angeles and is the co-creator, executive producer and star of Comedy Central’s RENO 911!

MICHAEL PATRICK JANN (Written by): is a writer/director/producer in film and television. If you doubt this is true, check his IMDb page. Seriously, dude, check it. Jann has also directed hundreds of famous, semi-famous and sometimes totally crappy TV commercials. He is quite tall, deliriously handsome, and currently executive producing and directing two pilots, one for HBO, the other for Comedy Central.

JIM HOGSHIRE’s (Based on the Book by): Author of the 1999 book, “You Are Going To Prison,” became a cult classic and inspired the film by Bob Odenkirk. It was also used as source material for the HBO television series Oz and has been used as a textbook by teachers at several colleges.

The author has written a number of books on America’s fascination with mass consumerism and counterculture. From 1999’s “Pills-A-Go-Go: A Fiendish Investigation Into Pill Marketing, Art, History & Consumption” to 1997’s “Grossed-Out Surgeon Vomits Inside Patient!: An Insider’s Look at the Supermarket Tabloids” he has intrigued many a reader with his frank writing.

Other books by Hogshire include 1996’s “Pharmaceutical Nation: An Obsessive Study of Pill Marketing, Art, History and Culture from Flintstones Vitamins to Prozac,” 1994’s “Opium for the Masses: A Practical Guide to Growing Poppies and Making Opium” and 1992’s “Sell Yourself to Science: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Organs, Body Fluids, Bodily Functions and Being a Human Guinea Pig.”

Hogshire has a master’s degree in medieval Italian literature from Indiana University. His writings have also provided the inspiration for director Tim Pope’s 1993 film Phone, which starred Linda Blair, Amanda Plummer and Bill Pullman.

MARC ABRAHAM (Produced by): founded Strike Entertainment, a development/production entity, in early 2002. Strike is based at Universal Pictures, where the company enjoys a comprehensive first-look, four-year production agreement. Strike most recently produced the darkly comic horror film Slither, which marked the feature-film directorial debut of acclaimed genre-film scribe James Gunn. In addition to Let’s Go To Prison, Strike Entertainment recently wrapped one other film for Universal Pictures, the thriller Children of Men.

Abraham produced Dawn of the Dead for Universal Pictures; Spy Game, directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt; The Emperor’s Club for Universal, starring Kevin Kline; Tuck Everlasting for Disney, starring Oscar® winners Ben Kingsley, William Hurt and Sissy Spacek; The Family Man, starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni; the summer blockbuster hit Bring It On, starring Kirsten Dunst; and A Thousand Acres, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Abraham served as executive producer as well on such films as Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford; The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington and directed by Norman Jewison; and For Love of the Game, starring Kevin Costner.

Previously, Abraham was the president of Beacon Communications. While there, Abraham also spearheaded the formation of Beacon Records, which released five soundtracks that sold more than four million units worldwide. During its first few years, Beacon produced such award-winning films as The Commitments, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) in 1991 and went on to win four BAFTA awards, and Keith Gordon’s well-received A Midnight Clear, starring Ethan Hawke.

In a co-venture with Turner Pictures, Abraham executive-produced David Mamet’s A Life in the Theater, which won a CableACE Award for Best Dramatic or Theatrical Special. Beacon also produced Sugar Hill, starring Wesley Snipes; Princess Caraboo, starring Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline, for which Abraham was a Golden Halo winner; The Road to Wellville, directed by Alan Parker and starring Anthony Hopkins; and The Baby-Sitters Club, based on the best-selling series of books from Scholastic.

Abraham’s entry into film began with the documentary Playing to Win, an inside look at the Cuban athletic system. He authored several screenplays for such companies as 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and CBS, and wrote for the popular series 21 Jump Street and Moonlighting. In 1990, Abraham won a Writers Guild Award for The Earth Day Special.

MATT BERENSON (Produced by): is the president of Carsey-Werner Films. In addition to Universal Pictures’ Thanksgiving release Let’s Go To Prison, he has produced several comedies, including Daddy Day Care, starring Eddie Murphy, and the upcoming The Brothers Solomon, for Revolution Studios and Screen Gems.

Berenson graduated from Princeton University in 1990 with a B.A. in history.

PAUL YOUNG (Produced by): is the founding partner of Principato-Young Entertainment (PYE), one of the top management-production firms in Hollywood. Young is an executive producer on the Oxygen hit show Campus Ladies and a coexecutive producer on the Comedy Central half-hour comedy RENO 911!.

Young also just completed executive producing RENO 911!: Miami for Fox, Paramount and Comedy Central, which Fox is releasing on February 26, 2007. He was also one of the executive producers on Bickford Schmeckler’s Cool Ideas, the Scott Lew film that premiered at this year’s HBO Comedy Festival. Young’s firm is widely known for representing the best in the next generation of comedic voices, including Rob Corrdry and Ed Helms from The Daily Show, Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm, RV), Anthony Anderson (Barbershop, The Shield), Artie Lange (The Howard Stern Show), Earthquake (Kings of Comedy) and DeRay Davis (Barbershop). PYE’s writer clients have written more than 20 studio movies during the past five years, ranging from Barbershop to The Pacifier to Daddy Day Care.

Young started his career as a reporter at Daily Variety and then became an executive at Paramount Pictures, where he helped shepherd the films In &Out and The First Wives Club. Young graduated with honors from Swarthmore College in 1992.

DEBRA GRIECO BERGMAN (Executive Producer): With a bachelor of arts in communications and film, Bergman graduated from New York’s Hofstra University in 1990 and started her career working with well-known names such as Steven Spielberg on the production staff of Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park and We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story for Amblin Entertainment.

She was also involved as a production accountant in the following feature films: Still Breathing, Reservoir Dogs, T-Rex, Sweet Justice and The Edge. Grieco Bergman now has a solid reputation in the domain of co-production and line production in New York and Los Angeles. She co-produced Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely & Amazing and line-produced The Assassination of Richard Nixon, starring Sean Penn.

She has also co-produced the following feature films: Piece of My Heart, with The Vault, Inc.; Angels Don’t Sleep Here, with Silverline Pictures; and The Setting Son, for PorchLight Entertainment. In addition to Let’s Go To Prison, this past year she executive-produced The OH in Ohio, starring Parker Posey, Paul Rudd and Danny DeVito. Grieco Bergman brought her strengths as a line producer to different entertainment companies, producing such fare as Jumpshot, directed by Leon Gast; Devil’s Prey, directed by Bradford May; the series Sex Court with Playboy Productions; Sparkler, directed by Darren Stein; Making Sandwiches, directed by Sandra Bullock; and What Happened to Pete, directed by Steve Buscemi.

Grieco Bergman has also line-produced spots promoting such HBO shows as Comic Relief 8 and Arli$$, and HBO stars as Dennis Miller, Tracey Ullman, David Spade, Richard Jeni and Paul Rodriguez. She has produced for the behind-the-scenes specials on The Rat Pack, and First Time Felon and Poodle Springs.

In addition, Grieco Bergman has produced two festival shorts—There Is No April, for Juli Productions, and To His Coy Apple, for Hepcat Pictures (which won an award at the South by Southwest Film Festival). Currently, Grieco Bergman is working for Sony Pictures as the vice president of production.

ARMYAN BERNSTEIN (Executive Producer): chairman of Beacon Communications and ShoWest Producer of the Year, has produced and executive- produced such films as Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford; The Hurricane (which he also co-wrote), starring Denzel Washington; Thirteen Days, starring Kevin Costner; End of Days, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; The Family Man, starring Nicolas Cage; Bring It On, starring Kirsten Dunst; For Love of the Game, starring Kevin Costner; Spy Game, starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford; Open Range, starring Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall and Annette Bening; Raising Helen, starring Kate Hudson and John Corbett; Ladder 49, starring John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix; A Lot Like Love, starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet; Firewall, starring Harrison Ford, Virginia Madsen and Paul Bettany; and The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher and directed by Andrew Davis.

Currently in production is The Waterhorse, directed by Jay Russell.

Bernstein founded Beacon Communications in 1990, and it has become one of the most successful independently financed film companies in the entertainment business. Its first films were The Commitments, directed by Alan Parker, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Picture and went on to win four BAFTA Awards; Keith Gordon’s critical triumph A Midnight Clear, starring Ethan Hawke; A Thousand Acres, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange; Sugar Hill, starring Wesley Snipes; Playing God, starring David Duchovny and Timothy Hutton; Princess Caraboo, starring Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline; The Road to Wellville, directed by Alan Parker and starring Anthony Hopkins; and David Mamet’s A Life in the Theatre, which won a Cable ACE Award for Best Drama.

Bernstein was born and raised in Chicago and attended the University of Wisconsin. He was a broadcast journalist with PBS and then with ABC. He wrote the cult classic Thank God It’s Friday, starring Debra Winger and Jeff Goldblum. He then wrote and co-produced Francis Ford Coppola’s legendary Vegas romance One from the Heart. Bernstein made his directing debut with Windy City, from his screenplay, which starred John Shea and Kate Capshaw. He also co-wrote and directed Cross My Heart, starring Martin Short and Annette O’Toole. Bernstein wrote and produced ABC’s Emmy Award–winning The Earth Day Special.

MARCY CARSEY (Executive Producer): Named one of the 50 greatest women in radio and television, Carsey is partner and co-founder of the largest, and arguably one of the most successful, independent studios in television history, Carsey- Werner.

With over 2,000 episodes of television produced, Carsey-Werner has been one of the leading suppliers and distributors to the worldwide marketplace for over 20 years. Its recent hits include That ’70s Show and Grounded for Life. In summer 2005, along with Steve Martin, Joan Stein and Bunim-Murray, Werner debuted The Scholar, an unscripted series for ABC. The studio also has projects in development for FOX and CW.

With shows seen in over 175 countries and heard in 50 different languages, Carsey-Werner controls a library of high-quality programming including the series The Cosby Show, A Different World, Roseanne, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Grace Under Fire, Cosby and Cybill.

Carsey began her show-business career as an NBC tour guide and soon became a production assistant on The Tonight Show. Following that, she became a program supervisor at William Esty Advertising. She left New York for Hollywood and worked as a story analyst for Roger Gimbel at Tomorrow Entertainment, eventually becoming executive story editor.

In 1974, Carsey joined ABC-TV as a general program executive for comedy programming. Two years later, she became vice president of prime-time comedy and variety programs, and three years after that, senior vice president of prime-time series.

Carsey went out on her own in 1980 to pursue independent production, and a year later teamed with her ABC partner Tom Werner to form Carsey-Werner.

Carsey and her partner have been inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Broadcasting & Cable Magazine’s halls of fame. She has received the Emmy Award, Peabody Award, Humanitas Prize, NAACP Image Award, the David Susskind Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America, the Publicists Guild’s Showman of the Year Award and the Lucy Award from Women in Film. In 1999, she was given the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, placing her in the Museum of the American Dream as one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary achievers.

Carsey is a native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and a cum laude graduate in English literature from the University of New Hampshire. She has two adult children.

TOM WERNER (Executive Producer): is partner and co-founder of arguably one of the most successful independent studios in television history, Carsey-Werner. He is also chairman of the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

The Emmy-winning producer is a 1971 cum laude graduate of government from Harvard University and was an award-winning documentary producer, noted for his film about the first female presidential candidate, Shirley Chisholm: Pursuing the Dream, before embarking on his career in television.

With over 2,000 episodes of television produced, Carsey-Werner has been one of the leading suppliers and distributors to the worldwide marketplace for over 20 years. As executive producer of a number of landmark programs including The Cosby Show, Roseanne and 3rd Rock From the Sun and major hits such as That ’70s Show, Grounded for Life, A Different World, Grace Under Fire, Cybill and Cosby, Werner and his partner, Marcy Carsey, have obtained a vast library of programs seen in over 175 countries and translated into 50 different languages. In summer 2005, along with Steve Martin, Joan Stein and Bunim-Murray, Werner debuted The Scholar, an unscripted series for ABC.

Let’s Go To Prison represents Carsey-Werner Films’ first feature.

Werner started at ABC Television and eventually became senior vice president of prime-time series in December 1980. Along the way, he helped develop such shows as Mork & Mindy, Soap, Three’s Company and The Love Boat. He then joined Marcy Carsey in their independent production partnership.

Werner explains their singular record of achievement this way: “I believe our success is due to our profound respect for our audience. Our shows strive to reflect the human condition and enlighten as well as entertain.”

Werner has been inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Broadcasting & Cable Magazine’s halls of fame. Carsey-Werner’s philosophy of putting the audience first has helped garner its shows many accolades including 24 Emmy Awards, 11 Golden Globes, 23 People’s Choice Awards, four Humanitas Prizes, two George Foster Peabody Awards and 18 NAACP Image Awards. Along with being

honored by the Museum of Television and Radio, it has received the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award from NATPE, the David Susskind Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America and a place in the Museum of the American Dream as one of the 20th century’s most extraordinary achievers.

Werner was recently appointed to the California Film Commission by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and has been on the White House Fellows Commission. He has also served on the board of a number of philanthropic organizations including Crossroads School in Los Angeles and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

CARYN MANDABACH (Executive Producer): Since 1984, Mandabach has developed and produced more than 1,500 half-hours of the highest-quality comedy television. Her first effort, The Cosby Show, ran for eight seasons. Other hits include A Different World, Roseanne, Cybill, 3rd Rock from the Sun and That ’70s Show. These shows, along with many others, created well over $1 billion in value for what eventually became the Carsey-Werner-Mandabach Company—the last independent comedy supplier in America.

In August 2004, Mandabach started her own company, eponymously titled Caryn Mandabach Productions. Thus far, CMP has garnered a deal with the BBC to own and produce five comedy scripts, three of which will be piloted for U.K. series consideration. Additionally, Mandabach has set up five scripts stateside to be produced for cable and network television. Canadian indie Lionsgate is the distributor of CMP product.

Mandabach has won numerous awards including the Emmy, the Humanitas, the People’s Choice and the Peabody. She has been a keynote speaker at the Edinburgh Television Festival and has been honored by the Producers Guild, Promax, NATPE, Women in Film and numerous other organizations for her efforts.

She has two children, Marisa and Jonathan, whom she finds amusing.

RAMSEY NICKELL (Director of Photography): Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Nickell moved to Los Angeles in 1988. Nickell started in the film industry in the time-honored position of production assistant. He rapidly rose through the ranks of electrician, best boy and gaffer to director of photography. He had the good fortune to be mentored by, amongst others, Wayne Isham, Bill Pope and Sam Bayer. With the latter, he gaffed on approximately 50 music videos, including Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” In the eight years since Nickell made the changeover from gaffer to DP, he has worked on numerous award-winning commercials and music videos. In 1999, Nickell was the recipient of the Music Video Producers Association/Panavision Award for Best Cinematography for The Crystal Method’s “Comin’ Back.”

He has worked on scores of award-winning commercials in the past seven years. In the last two years, Nickell has rounded out his career with the addition of narrative work in film and television. He shot the pilot for Fastlane with longtime collaborator McG (Charlie’s Angels). In the feature world, Nickell just wrapped principal photography on Marcos Siega’s Chaos Theory, starring Ryan Reynolds and Emily Mortimer. The OH in Ohio, starring Danny DeVito, Parker Posey and Paul Rudd recently debuted at the South by Southwest Film Festival. Pretty Persuasion, with director Marcos Siega and starring James Woods, Evan Rachel Wood and Ron Livingston, is available on DVD.

JOHN PAINO (Production Designer): is currently working on Tom McCarthy’s latest film, The Visitor. This is his second pairing with the director; he served as the production designer on the award-winning The Station Agent. In addition to Let’s Go To Prison, Paino’s most recent credits include The Brothers Solomon, also directed by Bob Odenkirk; Jesse Peretz’s Fast Track; and On the One, directed by Charles Randolph- Wright. He has amassed an extensive list of commercial credits with some of the top directors in the commercial world. His design work on the hit NBC/Bravo show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy garnered him a 2004 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program.

ERIC L. BEASON, ACE (Editor): most recently worked as an editor on 2004’s The Alamo, directed by John Lee Hancock, and Against the Ropes, directed by Charles S. Dutton and starring Meg Ryan and Omar Epps. Additionally, Beason edited 2002’s The Rookie, starring Dennis Quaid and Rachel Griffiths, and 2001’s Joy Ride, with Paul Walker. Other notable films on which Beason has served as editor include 1999’s For

Love of the Game, 1998’s A Simple Plan, 1996’s Unforgettable, 1995’s The Maddening and 1994’s The Last Seduction.

ALAN ELLIOTT (Music by): To make this soundtrack distinctive, Elliot and director Bob Odenkirk traveled from Detroit to record White Stripes’ drummer Meg White, to West Hollywood to record the Queens of the Stone Age. They finished in beautiful downtown Glendale with a hip-hop Hall of Fame all-star band spotlighting human beatbox Rahzel (from the Roots), drummer James Gadson (featured on the newest release by Beck and famous for his work with Marvin Gaye, the Watts 103rd Street Band and the Jackson 5), bongo player King Errisson (the most sampled hip-hop artist of all time through his work on the Incredible Bongo Band), guitarist Ray Parker Jr. (“Ghostbusters”) and bassist Reggie McBride (Steve Wonder).

Unlike a typical shotgun marriage of famous recording artists and movies, the musicians were not asked to contribute songs but instead performed score written especially for the movie by Elliott.

Bringing together musical legends and musical legends-to-be provides a lean, percussive score which helps propel the twisting and twisted plot line of Let’s Go To Prison.

With over 70 original cues (only three pieces of source music were used), Elliott’s score virtually serves as a character inside the film, whether underlining the aggression between Will Arnett and Dax Shepard, the simmering passion in Will Arnett and Chi McBride’s love scenes or reinventing the earlier music with the use of string quartet for the film’s surprising conclusion.

Elliott is currently producing music for his record label, Al’s Records and Tapes. Through Al’s, Elliott works with a variety of artists from the soulful Cody Chesnutt (featured with The Roots, Kanye West and The Fugees in Michel Gondry’s film Dave Chapelle’s Block Party), the jazz of Teo Macero (legendary music producer of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Thelonius Monk), to the glitchtronica of Ruger Seeds and Sabolab.

Elliott’s non-profit program, the Jack Elliott Music Project, provides music education and technology to at-risk students at no cost to schools or students. Over the past three years, the Jack Elliott Music Project has donated over $100,000 worth of technology and training to these communities.

Elliott lives in Hollywood with his wife and two dogs.

G. MARQ ROSWELL’s (Music Supervisor): impressive list of music supervision credits includes An Unfinished Life, Dawn of the Dead, Baadasssss!, Walking Tall, Spy Game, Auto Focus, Pay it Forward, End of Days, The Hurricane, Varsity Blues and The Commitments. He recently completed work on Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price and researched 18th century-period Venetian music for Lasse Hallström’s Casanova. Currently, he is producing and music supervising Hard Luck, directed by Mario Van Peebles and starring Wesley Snipes. Roswell has produced numerous film scores including the scores for The Hurricane, Baadasssss! and Dawn of theDead.

Over the last 20 years, Roswell has produced sessions by a multitude of talents including Koko Taylor, Money Mark, Invisible Scratch Pickles, Steve Earle, Jewel, The Roots, Mos Def, Lyle Lovett, Propellerheads and Rodney Crowell. In addition to possessing an uncanny knack for assembling the right musicians for the job, his musical instincts are undeniable. He has also produced many on-camera, musical playback sequences for films such as the The Commitments, Wild at Heart and The Thing Called Love.

ADAM SWART (Music Supervisor): has worked as music supervisor, music coordinator and has overseen clearances on more than 16 projects.

Among his past credits include work for the films Dawn of the Dead, Walking Tall, An Unfinished Life and Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story.

Notable forthcoming releases include The Brothers Solomon, directed by Bob Odenkirk of Mr. Show fame; Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers, directed by Robert Greenwald; and Hard Luck, directed by Mario Van Peebles.